CITY CONTROLLER SEEKS REVIEW OF TICKET COLLECTIONS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

City Controller Rick Tuttle called Friday for a review of the private firm that collects and hears appeals on Los Angeles parking tickets, questioning if too many of the tickets are being dismissed.

At the same time, he noted the percentage of dismissed tickets is only 0.1 above that for similar jurisdictions, and the city is making more money than in the past on the tickets.

More than 3.1 million tickets were issued in 1997, the last year for which figures were available, bringing in more than $99.7 million.

But as the number of tickets has soared, so have appeals to Lockheed Corp., the private firm hired by the city to conduct administrative hearings for those who protest the tickets.

``(City Transportation Department) internal auditors have not evaluated the performance of Lockheed's administrative review since 1994 to ensure compliance with the city's guidelines,'' Tuttle said.

Francis Bannerjee, head of the city's Department of Transportation, said the audit doesn't reflect changes that have been made in recent years, particularly with the use of hand-held computers.

``We can't issue a ticket unless all the information is filled out,'' Bannerjee said. ``Also, every day we go over what was done the previous day.''

Bannerjee called attention to Tuttle's own figures showing that the Los Angeles dismissal rate of tickets is 3.7 percent, compared to 3.6 percent in San Francisco.

Also, Los Angeles has an unpaid ticket rate of 1.2 percent, the lowest in the nation, she said. In addition, she said her department is constantly monitoring Lockheed's work.

Tuttle said he was concerned with the number of tickets dismissed due to officer error.

Over a five-year period, he said, the dismissed tickets amounted to $7.8 million in lost revenue to the city.

If there is such a serious problem with officer error, Tuttle said the department should take corrective steps to insure all officers know city regulations.

Among the categories for which tickets might be dismissed are where the tickets list the wrong make or vehicle identification number or missing information from a ticket.

However, Bannerjee said a number of categories list officer error where that is not the case.

``For instance, someone might be given a ticket for parking in a disabled space and not having a placard,'' Bannerjee said. ``If they come in and they do have a disabled placard, we are going to go easy on them if it isn't a perpetual thing. The cards slip and we don't want to unduly punish people.''

Laws regarding parking tickets were changed in 1991 so they would no longer be considered crimes. At the same time, cities were allowed to bring in private firms to help collect the fines and conduct administrative hearings. If individuals are dissatisfied with the results of a hearing, they can appeal the case to the courts.