Petaluma raises parking fees - again

<p>In an agenda item that lasted a total of one minute and 30 seconds, Petaluma City Council members on Monday night approved a $5 increase in parking fines throughout the city.</p><p>Although such fines are usually a hot-button issue for most motorists, no one spoke against the increase and the issue passed with not a word of discussion between the seven-member council.</p><p>A parking ticket in Petaluma will now cost $45, up $10 in the past two years. The increase was necessary because the state has increased its take of the city’s parking fines by $4.50 per violation over the past two years, to a total of $9.50 per ticket.</p><p>The city will keep 50 cents of the higher fees — or about $3,590 a year — and send the rest to the state. </p><p>If the fees weren’t raised, according to reports by the police department, the city would have to pay about $32,310 more to the state to cover the portion it is required to remit.</p>