La Crosse mayor thinks boot will kick unpaid parking ticket collections into high gear

There are high hopes for a new program to boot cars with multiple unpaid parking tickets in La Crosse.

Mayor Tim Kabat said that just warning violators about the possibility of having their car immobilized has led many to come to city hall to pay up.

“I think people understand that if they do have outstanding tickets there is a chance that their car could be booted,” Kabat said.

La Crosse Police announced a plan to begin immobilizing cars with multiple outstanding parking tickets starting Nov. 15.

Those with five or more tickets overdue by more than 60 days can get the boot or get towed.

“This is going to be a tool that’s going to enable us to collect outstanding fines, which, I think that’s what we’re supposed to be doing,” Kabat said. “We know that there’s hundreds of thousands of dollars of outstanding fines.”

Kabat says the policy has already been effective. Just the threat of getting booted has led to parking ticket deadbeats coming to City Hall to pay old fines.