Aspen officials will soon decide whether to pursue criminal action or cut their losses concerning a parking-meter scam that has resulted in unpaid debts of as much as $56,000 a month this year and thousands of dollars a month since 2010.
The city’s Finance Department has been in talks with the Aspen Police Department and City Attorney Jim True about legal avenues, and on Monday, the Aspen City Council will weigh in, as it is expected to approve a new $600,000 parking-meter system to be installed in December.
The current system, installed in 2007, has been susceptible to a scam where drivers use prepaid, maxed-out debit cards for downtown parking.
Because it is a batch-processing system, the cards are not declined until the end of the day. The city claims it has since blocked such cards.
When asked how confident he is that criminal charges can be pursued, Finance Director Don Taylor declined comment.
“I’m not downplaying the issue,” he added. “It’s something we take very seriously.”
Since 2010, the average dollar amount for declined-card transactions has climbed steadily. Based on monthly declines, the Finance Department logged losses of $26,580 in 2010, $37,800 in 2011, $78,036 in 2012, $227,220 in 2013 and $448,000 so far in 2014 — for a total of $817,636.
