Sales tax revenue, business license fees, parking tickets cause debt problems

Faced with nearly $500,000 in combined debt from businesses and residents in the city, Montgomery, Alabama, officials recently validated two debt recovery initiatives without help from collections, the Montgomery Advertiser reports. Around 100 businesses owe a total of $278,000 to the city. Nearly half have already begun to pay off their debts, while the other half have yet to respond to requests for payment. "If they continue to pay, we will consider them out of harm's way," Montgomery mayor Todd Strange told the news source. The six worst offenders, which owe a combined $35,000, were contacted by the city council and warned that they could lose their business licenses if they don't pay. Montgomery is also owed around $220,000 in unpaid parking tickets. Residents will have until March 1 to pay, and those with more than $100 in debt will be offered payment plans. Some tickets may have been issued for illegally parking in handicapped spots. WAKA-TV reports that loopholes in current legislation allow anyone with a handicapped tag to park in the spots. Graham Sisson, the executive director of the Governor's Office on Disability, is pushing for a change that would require the addition of a photograph to the tag.