The city’s revenues from traffic and parking violations could come in under last year’s eight-year low because cops are on track to write nearly 270,000 fewer moving violations, The Post has learned.
Reports from Mayor Bloomberg’s budget office show that 1,262,585 of those violations were recorded in the last fiscal year, while only 744,741 were logged through the first nine months of fiscal 2012.
If that trend continues through June 30, when the fiscal year ends, the final tally will be 992,988 — a stunning reduction of 269,597 summonses.
The Post reported last August that cops upset at new regulations imposed after the Bronx ticket-fixing scandal were engaging in a widespread slowdown.
But Matthew Weiss, who’s handled 50,000 parking summonses in his law practice over two decades, said there’s no question cops are keeping their pens in their pockets.
“We definitely see less tickets being issued in the city,” Weiss said. “A lot of cops don’t want to be bothered.”
The city collected $25.6 million from moving violations last year. This year, it’s on schedule to haul in $16.5 million.
Meanwhile, fines for non-moving violations — from expired parking meters to alternate-side infractions — are running below the projection of $513 million issued just two weeks ago, and aren’t likely to be much more than last year’s $496 million.
Officials are scratching their heads about what’s going on.
“Maybe not as many people are parking illegally,” speculated one official.
The explanation offered in budget documents issued May 6 was more pragmatic.
“Diversion of resources for traffic management and training resulted in a reduction in summons issuance in 2012,” the documents stated.