Salem 'Peas For Fees' Offers Ticket Fee Amnesty For Food Donations

SALEM, MA — Salem residents who have been a bit tardy paying those pesky parking tickets can get out from under that cloud of delinquency in a way that helps those in need once again this holiday season.

The city's annual "Peas for Fees" campaign encouraged residents with unpaid citations to clear the increasing debt through the donation of canned goods and non-perishable food items. The program begins on Thursday and continues through Dec. 23.

Up to $30 in parking ticket late fees will be waived for the donation of at least two items at the City Collector's Office at Salem City Hall. The office is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon.

All donations will go to local Salem food pantries.

The amnesty program not only brings in food for those in need but also helps the city clear up the original amounts owed on the parking violations that will, indeed, have to be paid at some point one way or the other.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)