Malibu Eyes More Parking Enforcement As 56K Annual Tickets Generate $3.3M

MALIBU, CA — Parking tickets are big business in Malibu, where the city collects approximately $3.3 million annually from tens of thousands of citations issued to drivers.

The city processes an average of 56,000 parking tickets each year, according to a city staff report.

For comparison, neighboring Santa Monica issues approximately 200,000 parking tickets annually, while the city of Los Angeles issued nearly 1.9 million parking and safety-related citations during the last fiscal year.

Relative to population, Malibu issues tickets at more than twice the rate of Santa Monica and roughly 12 times the rate of Los Angeles — a striking disparity that likely reflects the large numbers of visitors drawn to Malibu's beaches and other coastal attractions.

The Malibu figures were disclosed as part of a proposal to extend the city's contract with Turbo Data Systems Inc., which has handled Malibu's parking citation processing since 2014.

The company provides equipment and software used to issue tickets, collect payments, process appeals and place holds on vehicle registrations for unpaid citations.

The City Council on Monday approved a three-year contract extension through November 2029, citing plans to expand parking enforcement operations throughout Malibu.

The extension is the ninth amendment to the city's agreement with Turbo Data. According to the staff report, the city did not have enough time to complete a competitive bidding process before the current contract expires Nov. 23.

Instead, staff plans to seek competitive proposals before the next contract cycle begins in 2029.

The agreement does not require additional budget funding because the company's fees are deducted directly from parking citation revenue.