(a) A person who is personally or constructively served with a parking ticket charging a parking infraction may answer the charge by appearing personally before the Parking Violations Bureau, or by mail, within five days from the date of the infraction. The answer shall be in one of the following forms:
(1) An admission that the person committed the infraction, by payment of any fine arising out of the parking infraction;
(2) An admission that the person committed the infraction, with an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the infraction;
(3) A denial that the person committed the infraction and a request for a hearing. If the person desires the presence, at the hearing, of the law enforcement officer who issued the parking ticket, the person must request the officer's presence in his or her answer.
(b) A person who admits that he or she committed a parking infraction shall, and a person who admits that he or she committed a parking infraction with explanation may, when he or she makes his or her answer, pay the fine arising out of the infraction admitted to the Violations Clerk.
(c) A person who admits that he or she committed a parking infraction with explanation shall submit evidence to the Bureau that explains the circumstances surrounding the parking infraction. The evidence may be submitted in person or, to avoid the necessity of personal appearance, may be sent as affidavits and other documentary evidence, by mail. The Bureau, when it receives an answer admitting that a person committed a parking infraction with explanation, shall promptly determine whether the explanation mitigates the fact that the person committed the parking infraction and shall notify the person, in writing, of its determination. If the Bureau determines that the explanation mitigates the fact that the person committed the parking infraction, the Bureau shall eliminate or reduce the amount of the fine arising out of the parking infraction. If the fine is eliminated or reduced and the person has previously paid the fine, the amount paid in excess of the revised fine shall be returned to the person. If the fine is eliminated or reduced and the person has not previously paid the fine, the person shall pay only the amount of the revised fine. If a person admits that he or she committed a parking infraction with explanation and the person fails to pay the amount of the fine due within five days after receiving notice of the Bureau's determination, unless the amount due has previously been paid, the Bureau's determination and the amount of the fine due will be considered a judgment and shall be treated as if it were a judgment rendered subsequent to a hearing held pursuant to Section 454.07.
(d) A person who denies that he or she committed a parking infraction shall be granted a hearing concerning the infraction. The Bureau shall set a date for the hearing and notify the person, in writing, of the date, time and place of the hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by a hearing examiner of the Parking Violations Bureau in accordance with Section 454.07.
(e) If a person who is personally or constructively served with a parking ticket charging the commission of a parking infraction fails to timely answer the charge, as provided in subsection (a) hereof, the Parking Violations Bureau shall issue the proper notification of infraction pursuant to Section 454.06 and proceed according to that section. Failure to timely answer a charge may result in the imposition of an additional penalty as prescribed by ordinance.
(f) The issuance of a parking ticket, the filing of or failure to file an answer by a person personally or constructively served with the ticket, the substance of an answer, the payment of any fine, penalty, fee and cost, and any other relevant information, shall be entered in the records of the Bureau.
(Ord. 122-95. Passed 7-24-95.)