Our guest contributor is Taylor Bunting, a 45-year Berkeley resident and congenital realist
The Employee of the Month in the Berkeley Parking Enforcement Unit is Ms. I. N. Skye, who recognized that the red light cameras installed throughout the city were underutilized. They were designed to serve as a warning to motorists not to proceed on yellow lights, but they have never generated enough revenue to justify their costs. As a result, the Unit has never, until now, assigned anyone to look at the many hours of traffic records at major intersections.
But, when the City Council mandated mask wearing throughout Berkeley, Ms. Skye recognized an opportunity. The cameras could easily be repurposed to identify motorists driving without masks. Having once had a course in Econ 101, Ms. Skye recommended setting the fine at only $10 per infraction. She recalled learning that low prices meant more sales and, therefore, more revenue. Furthermore, a $10 fee would result in many people paying it as opposed to having one point added to their driving record. The low fee would also discourage lawyers from trying to accumulate enough cases to justify a class action lawsuit.
Thanks to the additional revenue, the Parking Enforcement Unit has been able to transfer all of its 21 roving Parking Enforcement Officers to “working from home” positions. This change more than offset the lost revenue from the absence of motorists using parking meters and incurring fines for overstaying their meter. It also saves the costs of gasoline and maintenance on the unwieldly 3-wheeled vehicles used by the Officers.
Fines can be paid with one touch using the city’s standard parking app. The app’s Bitcoin-based anonymity provides protection from public shaming for mask non-compliance, just as it does for driving.