Meriden Loses Thousands on Unpaid Parking Tickets After Citations Mishandled

Meriden Police Chief Jeffry Cossette wrote an open letter to Meriden residents about a situation involving a sum of money being found in the desk of a records clerk in December.

The clerk was put on administrative leave and an investigation was launched. The clerk retired before a disciplinary hearing after an investigation revealed that checks and cash from permits and parking tickets weren’t properly processed in a timely manner.

“There was no proof of criminal activity,” he said. “The clerk apparently became overwhelmed with the volume of work and chose to place the work in her desk rather than report her work falling behind.”

The total amount found was more than $11,000 in cash, checks and unpaid citations, according to the Record-Journal. An internal investigation report obtained by the paper revealed that she hadn’t submitted unpaid parking tickets to the collection agency since April 2001, which resulted in a significant loss of money for the city.

Parking ticket revenue dropped from a high of more than $68,000 in 1999 to a low of $10,858 in 2013.

Read Cossette’s full letter below.