"The financial gains to the City will more than offset the loss of penalty and interest revenue that will be forgiven as part of any City amnesty program," according to the proposal by Thompson and Miller. "The City's enhanced enforcement effort will have the additional benefit of preserving the City's quality of life by deterring illegal parking, sanitation violations and health code infractions."

Comptroller Thompson estimates that businesses and individuals owe the City more than $1 billion in outstanding fines and penalties. The Comptroller and City Council will work with the administration to establish guidelines, which would have to be adopted by the City Council through legislation.

"In these difficult times, we must find novel ways of collecting revenue," Comptroller Thompson said. But Thompson cautioned that continuing to ignore outstanding fines and penalties will yield harsher sanctions. "Amnesty will grant a temporary financial pardon. However, if you don't pay up now, you are going to get slapped with a stiffer penalty later."

Speaker Miller added: "Developing creative solutions like an amnesty program is the only way we are going to dig ourselves out of the current budget deficit. We have already cut the budget and raised taxes, and it's clear that the Governor has no intention of lending a hand on a State level. Therefore, we have to seek other ways to raise the huge amounts of revenue we've lost due to September 11th and a weak economy."

Individuals and businesses that do not participate in the program will face substantially strengthened collection efforts and penalties beginning in Fiscal Year 2004, which starts July 1. The renewed collection efforts will include enforcement of Health, Transportation and Sanitation Code violations and attaching liens to assets where applicable.

An audit by the Comptroller's office (June 25, 2002) found that in Fiscal Year 2001, the city Department of Finance failed to collect more than $634 million in ECB penalties. Additionally, the Comptroller estimates that close to $600 million in PV fines are past due. The Comptroller estimates, after making allowances for fines that are uncollectable, that enhanced collection efforts could generate more than $200 million.

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