Saskatoon city hall contemplates how to collect more than $6M in unpaid parking tickets

Saskatoon city hall is on the hunt for more than $6 million in unpaid parking fines.

In 2022, city council asked administration to come up with ideas on how to collect outstanding parking ticket revenue. At that time the city was owed $6.87 million.

A report detailing how the city has used various methods to bring that total down to its current total of $6.16 million was received at Tuesday's transportation committee meeting.

Administration said the city collects about 95 per cent of parking fines issued every year, but that the uncollected amount is important for two reasons: the money could be used for programs and services, and letting tickets go unpaid shows that breaking city rules has no consequences.

The city refers to people with two or more unpaid fines as scofflaw offenders. These scofflaws can have their vehicles fitted with a boot, towed or impounded.

There are 12,027 vehicle owners with that status, with 5,525 of them having registered their vehicles with Saskatoon addresses.

For scofflaws who aren't in Saskatoon, the report says administration is weighing a collections-based approach.

Since 2022, the city has added an additional parking enforcement unit, which administration says is informally known as the "boot crew."

Other ways to collect fines included changing the appearance of tickets to emphasize that fees are reduced when paid on time and sending letters.

The city is also looking at a policy to effectively write-off tickets that are deemed uncollectible. According to the report, about 32 per cent of the unpaid parking tickets on the books are from 10 years ago or longer.

Ward 1 Coun. Darren Hill asked administration at the meeting if the city could share data on "bootable" offenders with police, who could then help crack down on outstanding tickets with plate scanners. Matt Grazier, Saskatoon's director of community standards, said the city has not contacted police about that possibility.

Hill also asked if the city could pinpoint offenders' rough locations when they input their licence plate info into parking stations.

"We'd have to discuss with the vendor if it's simply a programming change, but that's a very valid suggestion and it's something that, you know, we'd have to explore with the vendor further," said Grazier.

Administration says it will update city council on it's fine collecting progress again in Q3 2025.