The city of St. Augustine is working to contact people after shoppers were mistakenly given parking tickets on Christmas Eve, which is now a federal holiday.
Jason Meninger was doing last-minute Christmas shopping when he said he ran into a store in downtown St. Augustine on Christmas Eve.
“When I came back out, I got this nice little yellow ticket on my windshield,” Meninger said.
The parking spot required him to pay at the meter. “The meter said 10 (a.m.) to 5 (p.m.) you had to pay, and federal holidays were excluded,” Meninger said.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week making Christmas Eve a federal holiday, meaning parking is free. But Meninger said that wasn’t the case.
“I’m thinking this is a great Christmas present to come out and get a ticket on a federal holiday,” Meninger said.
The city manager said that since people were already on vacation when President Trump signed the executive order, the system wasn’t switched over and people were ticketed for parking. “They must have ticketed a bunch of other people and they figured they paid a ticket and it’s not fair for people to pay a ticket on a federal holiday,” Meninger said.
It’s a $25 parking ticket that increases by $10 after 15 days.
“I don’t think it’s right but, hopefully, they’ll do the right thing and give everyone a refund,” Meninger said.
The city manager said the city plans contact everyone who received a ticket and will work to correct the errors.
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