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Some Sewerage & Water Board workers used fake handicap tags

Posted at 10:50 AM, Apr 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-04 11:50:45-04

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A report says several Sewerage & Water Board employees have been using fake or unauthorized handicap tags to bilk parking meters near the utility’s main office in New Orleans.
  
The report summarizes a two-day investigation into a claim that "able-bodied" employees were using handicap tags to park their vehicles on metered spaces near the office.
  
NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports runs of registrations of 40 vehicles displaying handicap tags near the office found most were registered to the employees.
  
26 employees parked with handicap tags belonging to a relative, someone else or were invalid or unreadable.
  
Estimated invalid handicap tags and expired receipts that weren’t ticketed could cost the city around $197,000 in lost parking meter revenue.
  
Press secretary Zachary Hudson says employees are encouraged to follow traffic laws, but their enforcement is outside the utility’s jurisdiction.