Over 7,500 Missoulians Receive Notice of Old Parking Tickets

Brittany Gardner, like many Missoulians received some odd mail this week, notifying her of a very old parking ticket.

"I got an unpaid parking ticket in the mail yesterday (Thursday, July 14)," Gardner said. "I thought my husband had gotten a parking ticket in my car and didn't tell me, little did I know that it was from 2013! Way back in June of 2013. I was kind of nervous because I've heard warrants can be sent out for unpaid parking tickets."

Gardner says she called the Parking Commission to find out what was going on.

"[The lady at the Missoula Parking Commission] said, you know, we are just sending them out and hoping people pay them, but after parking tickets are a year old, they can't issue a warrant for these unpaid parking tickets because they didn't send them," Gardner said. "She pretty much said 'if you don't want to pay then choose not to pay it,' so who would pay it? is what I'm thinking. I don't even remember doing it."

Missoula Parking Commission Director Rod Austin says the mass mailing of invoices came after new software was put in to work with the LUKE parking system. Austin says those that don’t pay their fees, may face bigger fees on their next parking ticket.

"There is probably not going to be any other type of pursuit," Austin said. We're not going to send collections after them, at least the small ones, but if you've got a parking ticket, you owe it."

The letters were sent out Wednesday, July 13 and caused phones to ring off the hook at the Missouala Parking Commission. According to Austin, around 7,500 Missoulians received an invoice.