(a) The parking ticket shall be used by law enforcement officers in all cases in which a person is charged with committing a parking infraction within the Municipality of Waterville. The parking ticket shall be the summons and complaint for purposes of this chapter.
(b) A law enforcement officer who issues a parking ticket for a parking infraction shall complete the ticket by identifying the parking infraction charged, recording the license plate number, type and make or model of the vehicle, and indicating the date, time and place of the parking infraction charged. The law enforcement officer shall sign the ticket and affirm the facts it contains and file a copy for Police Department records. If the operator of the vehicle is present, the law enforcement officer also shall record on the ticket the name of the operator in a space provided on the ticket for identification of the offender, and then shall personally serve the parking ticket upon the operator. If the operator of the vehicle is not present, the law enforcement officer shall insert the word “owner” in the space provided on the ticket for identification of the offender, and then shall constructively serve the parking ticket upon the owner of the vehicle by affixing the ticket to the vehicle in a conspicuous place.
Constructive service of a parking ticket upon an owner of a vehicle by affixation as provided in this subsection, or by the procedure described in subsection (d) hereof, has the same force and effect, and potentially subjects both the owner and the operator of the vehicle whose act or omission resulted in the parking infraction, if different, to the same fines, penalties, fees and costs, as if the parking ticket were personally served on both the owner and operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation.
(c) The original of a parking ticket issued pursuant to this section or any true copy of it shall be considered a record kept in the ordinary course of business of the Municipality and the law enforcement agency whose officer issued it, and shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts it contains.
(d) An operator of a vehicle who is not the owner of the vehicle, but who operates it with the express or implied permission of the owner is the agent of the owner for purpose of the receipt of parking tickets served in accordance with this section, and personal service of a parking ticket upon the operator in accordance with this section constitutes constructive service upon the owner for purposes of this chapter. The operator of a rented or leased vehicle whose act or omission resulted in an alleged parking infraction shall not be considered an agent of the owner if the owner is engaged in the business of renting or leasing vehicles pursuant to a written rental or lease agreement.
(e) When a parking ticket is issued for a parking infraction and is served pursuant to this section, the operator of the vehicle whose act or omission resulted in the parking infraction for which the ticket was issued, and the owner of the vehicle involved in the parking infraction, if different, are jointly liable for the parking infraction and any fines, penalties, fees and costs arising out of the parking infraction. Any owner of the vehicle who pays any fines, penalties, fees and costs imposed for a parking infraction pursuant to this chapter may recover the amount paid from the operator of the vehicle whose action or omission resulted in the parking infraction.
(Ord. 19-08. Passed 8-25-08.)