Porter added that the City ticketing people when streets aren’t being swept would be unethical.

“If street sweeping is not being done, they shouldn’t be ticketed. I agree with you on that,” she said.

“You can always talk to the area commander, she said, “but there’d still have to be a form of investigation before they can do anything in regards to a citation.”

Two days after the interview with Porter, I contacted the South L.A. area commander, who told me they couldn’t speak about citations, as Parking Enforcement passes them to the Parking Violations bureau after they are issued.

Porter told me that the City’s Street Services division would need to write and sign a letter admitting they didn’t sweep a given street in order for a ticket to be dismissed.

Porter said the conception of many — that “it’s all about the money” to the City — is simply untrue.

“That’s why we do street cleaning,” she said. “We’re there to provide a service to assist street services — and in turn that just generates revenue.”

But the City of Los Angeles made $134 million last fiscal year from parking fines, a total that equates to about $250 per minute for all of 2008.

“Most citations are in relation to street sweeping,” said Selwin Hollins, assistant general manager of LADOT’s finance and administration division.

And the revenue from parking fines has increased “greatly” over the past few years, according to Hollins.

But Porter said Parking Enforcement never cites cars when the streets aren’t swept.

“[They let us know] definitely before the time of the street cleaning,” she said.

“It’s not at all a good system,” said Jonathan Willbanks, a senior at the University of Southern California who parks on a crowded street in Downtown L.A. and has received five $60 parking tickets this year. “They look for any reason to ticket you.”

John Sapone, head of Street Maintenance for the City, said there’s no need to tweak the language of the municipal code — because the people involved in the City’s cross-division communication do the right thing.

“No, [it’s not in the law]. It’s just a courtesy,” said Sapone.

But, despite the clear evidence to the contrary, Porter and Sapone both insist there’s no problem of miscommunication or unethical ticketing.

“It’s frustrating,” said Groot. “That’s basically the money I save for emergency expenses [gone]. It’s my buffer for the month.”

Since the original investigative piece aired on YouTube, I’ve received dozens of messages and letters from people who have similar encounters with parking tickets.

Most of them admit that they should have known better, but have pushed for a response from the City, as the actions are in clear violation of the city’s ethical codes, and possibly the law as well.

Just hours after posting, a number of L.A. social and media blogs featured the story, as well as a long segment on the 5 o’clock Channel 4 News, prompting an email from and phone conversation with the office of City Council member Paul Koretz.
Kian Kaeni of Koretz’s office told me that this issue was one that merits not only discussion but also corrective action.
Kaeni said the media attention will further the cause.

What exactly that system of checks and balances will entail remains to be seen, but one thing is undeniable: the current system is clearly not there to serve the people.