City and residents go head to head over fines

Residents say the city had no right to fine them NIS 250 under cleanliness by-laws for parking on the sidewalk.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
The city of Herzliya is refusing to back down and cancel thousands of shekels in fines, despite residents' claims that the fines were issued illegally, reports www.local.co.il. The residents say the city had no right to fine them NIS 250 under cleanliness by-laws for parking on the sidewalk, instead of NIS 70 under parking by-laws. According to the report, residents of Rehov Hasharon have suffered from a severe parking space shortage for years and often have no choice but to park on the sidewalk. But in the years 2000 to 2001, the city began issuing them with fines for NIS 250 under the cleanliness by-law. Several councilors appealed on the residents' behalf to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the fines were illegal and that those who had paid them could sue the city for the return of the difference. A group of residents, who together had acquired illegal fines totaling in the tens of thousands of shekels, have since been trying to get their money back, to no avail. "We have no parking in the street and we received illegal fines. The city prosecutor is not willing to listen to us," one resident said. "We have acquired fines that have reached a total of NIS 40,000 but the city does not want to reach a payment agreement with us." No response was reported from the municipality.