SPRINGFIELD (AP) - The city of Springfield is going high-tech in its efforts to collect more than $11 million in unpaid parking tickets and delinquent auto excise taxes.
Treasurer and tax collector Stephen Lonergan says the city next month will start using license plate-reading devices that can be mounted onto city traffic enforcement vehicles.
The devices can scan license plates on cars and trucks parked on city streets. The device is programmed to alert traffic enforcement officials when it detects vehicles with outstanding parking tickets or unpaid excise tax bills.
He tells The Republican (http://bit.ly/KWtgij ) that the goal is to collect about $5.6 million in delinquent excise taxes and another $5.7 million in parking citations.
He says offending vehicles will be booted or towed until their owners pay up.
Information from: The Springfield Republican, http://www.masslive.com/news/
