Florida: City to Seize Homes Over a $5 Parking Ticket

[Chimichurri]

The city council in Brooksville, Florida voted this week to advance a proposal granting city officials the authority to place liens and foreclose on the homes of motorists accused of failing to pay a single $5 parking ticket. Non-homeowners face having their vehicles seized if accused of not paying three parking offenses.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/16/1664.asp

:wtf:

[soothsayer]

1. pays to rent!

[Kutjara]

2. Sounds ripe for a Constitutional challenge.

I can't think of a much more unfair seizure of property.

[Norquist Nemesis]

3. The legal paperwork costs more than the ticket

Geez! Seems wayyyyy over the top to me. :shrug: Stuff like this just feeds into the Big Brother/Government is Evil/Government is the problem thing that the Cons use.

It seems more in-line to issue an arrest warrant and suspend their driver's license (although still too strong arm IMO). Id suggest the first thing they need to do is raise the price of a ticket to $100. Then enact code that increases the ticket with a penalty for fines not paid within 60/90/120 days with a final arrest warrant/license suspension if the fine is still unpaid.

[Rageneau]

4. A natural progression of the War on (some) Drugs

No ggovernment entity in the country would ever have DARED to suggest confiscating personal property except for the insane, fascistic, completely political War on Drugs. But now that the precedent has been established...

[Kelly Rupert]

5. Yeah, because the government never had any power of confiscation.

Ever.

[lpbk2713]

6. They will do it because they CAN.

It's not about something as trite as 'enforcing the law'. No. Governments on all levels are now big business. It's all about revenue and profit and loss. If they can seize someone's house and sell it, particularly to one of their insider good ol' boys, then it's all gravy. They make money for the city without having to raise taxes. That looks good for them come election time.

[Lars39]

7. If this passes, despite vigorous citizen input,

the citizens need to evict these council members from *their* homes.