Boston City Councilor Proposes Parking Fine Based on Income

A Boston City Councilor is proposing a parking fine system based on how much money each driver makes per year.

City Councilor At-Large Julia Mejia, who plans to introduce her proposal at City Hall on Wednesday during the council’s weekly meeting, says income-based parking tickets would help low-income families because they would pay less in fines when they get parking tickets in the city, WBZ reported.

Mejia first teased her proposal during a recent Twitter video, when she referenced a viral Boston-themed Super Bowl ad as a way to spread her message about parking tickets.

I hope you’ll all join me next Wednesday, February 12th when I present my hearing order on income adjusted parking tickets—and @Hyundai, maybe we can work on community outreach together about #hardpark so we can all #smahtpahk! #bospoli #AllMeansAll pic.twitter.com/xhxA5hhTPr

— Julia Mejia (@juliaforboston) February 3, 2020

“Not everyone can ‘smaht pahk’ their car in the city of Boston. There are a lot of people who are juggling to make their coins meet,” Mejia said in the video.

According to the city of Boston’s website, parking tickets can go from $15 to $120.

Although income-adjusted parking fines are not used widely in the U.S., Finland has been known to use similar practices.

In March 2015, a Finland millionaire received a 54,000€ speeding ticket for driving 64 miles per hour (mph) in a 50 mph zone.