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Nearly Bankrupt Stockton Has $7 Million In Uncollected Parking Tickets

STOCKTON (CBS13) - We hate getting parking tickets but if you don't pay the meter you have to pay the fine.

Now, as high as it sounds, the city of Stockton has $7 million worth of unpaid tickets they just never collected.

The issue was exposed at Tuesday night's city council meeting and the $7 million figure seems to be shocking more than just the public.

The jaw-dropping number even caught the mayor off guard. And, with the city facing a $26 million deficit, that $7 million is just the beginning of their unpaid debts. There's still another $13 million in other assets the city never collected.

"We could certainly use that $7 million dollars," said Stockton Vice Mayor Kathy Miller.

Miller says the fines were issued, but no department ever followed up to see if they were paid.

"The more important issue for this council is figuring out where was the breakdown in the process," said Miller. "Why was a fine levied by parking or the police department and then there was no follow-up on it?"

But collecting the money now is not that easy. The $7 million in fines dates back years.

"My guess is that a collection agency will be involved," said Miller. "But a collection agency will take a percentage of whatever they collect."

So Stockton won't see much of that $7 million.

This multi-million dollar mistake is just the latest blunder in a city on the brink of bankruptcy, where people are becoming all too accustomed to hearing.

So now city leaders say they're figuring out the next step and how to make sure parking tickets get paid in the future.

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