A City Council panel on Tuesday ordered the Department of Transportation to provide details of the 1,000 parking tickets that were dismissed under the controversial "Gold Card" program.
The Audits and Government Efficiency Committee said it wanted a report on the program, in which two DOT staff members handled appeals of parking citations at the request of elected officials and other city staffers.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa last week ordered an end to the long-standing but little-known program after it was revealed in an audit by Controller Wendy Greuel.
The audit found about 1,000 citations had been dismissed over a two-year period with little justification or documentation, sparking accusations of favoritism.
"What we called for was a swift end of the Gold Card program," Greuel told the panel, adding that her office had also sought a report on the voided tickets.
Councilman Dennis Zine, who chairs the committee, said he was not convinced the Gold Card program should be abandoned.
"I think if anyone had taken Marketing 101 they would have come up with a different name for this," Zine said. "Calling it a Gold Card program is like saying it is only for VIPs when it was really a place to refer people with complaints."
Zine said he understood the Gold Card Desk as a part of a process that allowed officials to refer complaints, and that action was taken only if the motorist had pursued all other appeals.
Transportation Department officials said they will review all of the 1,000 tickets flagged by the Controller's Office.
Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18130732?source=rss
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