Waynesboro City Council approves increased parking fines

After no public comments, the City of Waynesboro voted Monday night to improve an increase for most parking fines from $10 to $20 per offense – doubling the fee.

The vote passed 4-0.

Jim Wood, who asked been asked to resign or to relinquish his vice mayor title over a gay slur made on his social media talk show, was not present at the March 13 meeting.

Waynesboro Mayor Lana Williams said Wood’s absence was due to the death of a family member.

The parking fine ordinance was introduced at Council’s Feb. 27 meeting. The vote was expected after last night’s public hearing.

“Essentially what we discovered was that Waynesboro fines ran about half to 60 percent less than what we found in our survey of neighboring localities or similar-sized localities in the Commonwealth,” said City Manager Mike Hamp in his presentation to City Council in February.

Assistant City Manager for Public Safety Michael Wilhelm said last night that the city looked at fine structures for cities including Staunton, Harrisonburg, Roanoke, Charlottesville and Lynchburg.

“Our intent is to meet the growing needs of the business community, while ensuring a level of service and convenience for our downtown visitors,” said Wilhelm.

“Increased fines will help deter business owners, employees and visitors from intentionally violating the law in the interest of personal convenience.”

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