(a) It shall be the duty of the police officers of the city and of other persons so authorized by the mayor and board of aldermen to report:
(1) The specific location at which the vehicle is or was parked in violation of any of the provisions of this article relating to parking;
(2) The state in which said vehicle is registered;
(3) The registration number of said vehicle; and
(4) Any other facts necessary to describe the circumstances surrounding the violation.
(b) Each police officer or other person authorized by the mayor and board of aldermen who discovers said illegally parked vehicle shall deliver a citation to the operator; or, if the vehicle is unattended, shall attach the citation to it in a conspicuous place. In the absence of the operator, the registered owner of the vehicle shall be presumed to be the recipient of the citation. A copy of the citation shall be retained by the police officer or other person authorized by the mayor and board of aldermen and shall bear his certification, under penalty of perjury, attesting to the truth of the matter therein set forth.
(c) The recipient of a citation may, within ten (10) days of the time when said citation was issued, make payment in the amount established from time to time by resolution of the mayor and board of aldermen and set forth in said citation, as a penalty for and in full satisfaction of said violation. In the event the recipient desires to stand trial for the violation, he may do so by notifying the chief of police within five (5) days of the time when said citation was issued and on the forms the chief of police has designated for that purpose. At the time the recipient makes notification of his intention to stand trial, he must specify whether or not he desires the presence at that trial of the police officer or other person authorized by the mayor and the board of aldermen who issued said citation. If the person receiving the citation does not notify the chief of police that he desires the presence at that trial of said police officer or other person authorized by the mayor and board of aldermen, it shall not be necessary that the officer or other person authorized by the mayor and board of aldermen appear, and the copy of said citation bearing the certification of the officer or other person authorized by the mayor and board of aldermen shall be prima facie evidence of the matter therein set forth.
(d) In the event the recipient of said citation fails to notify the chief of police of his intention to stand trial within five (5) days of the time when said citation was issued or fails to pay the fine for the violation within ten (10) days of the time when said citation was issued, a one dollar ($1.00) fine shall be tripled and all other fines be doubled, and such failure shall constitute a misdemeanor. The chief of police shall so notify in writing the registered owner of the vehicle and shall inform the owner in said notice that the state motor vehicle administration may refuse to renew or transfer the registration of the vehicle and that a warrant may be issued against the registered owner in all cases, or against the operator, when known. Fifteen (15) days after the date of said written notice to the registered owner, the fine, if still unpaid, shall be increased to ten dollars ($10.00) for any violation having an original fine of one dollar ($1.00) to twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for other violations, except for violations for improper parking in a space or zone marked as restricted for the use of handicapped individuals, and to eighty dollars ($80.00) for violations for improper parking in a space or zone marked as restricted for the use of handicapped individuals. Whenever the chief of police notifies the state motor vehicle administration to refuse to renew or to transfer the registration of a vehicle because of nonpayment of a parking fine, there shall be added at the time to the fine for each parking citation a ten dollar ($10.00) administrative fee.
(e) For the purposes of this article, the term “park” or “parking” shall mean the standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, otherwise than temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading and unloading merchandise or passengers. (Code 1953, § 10.117; 1961 Supp., § 10.117; Ord. No. G-203, § 1; Ord. No. G-74-11, § 1; Ord. No. G-75-40, § 1; Ord. No. G-76-14, § 1, 6-10-76; Ord. No. G-79-3, § 1, 2-1-79; Ord. No. G-90-6, § 1, 4-19-90)