Santa Monica officials found that some cities retain overpayments, returning the money only if asked. In the past, Santa Monica has relied on that method.
"It doesn't matter what others are doing," Ewell said. The new program "is the right thing to do."
Eva Uren, Santa Monica's revenue manager, recently uncovered the problem after consulting with payment processor ACS.
After Uren randomly checked the city's records, officials computed that motorists had made about 18,000 overpayments totaling $950,000 for which refunds had not been sought.
Santa Monica's new program goes into effect Oct. 1. The city will send a notice to individuals or businesses that have overpaid, asking them to verify that they are the ones who sent the payment. The city will then send a refund.
Ewell said the city also will work to improve its data systems so that it can more easily identify those who overpay. In the meantime, Ewell said, city employees will manually compare records and begin returning any overpayments.
City staffers expect to issue as many as 400 refunds totaling $20,000 each month.
The city issues about 320,000 parking tickets a year. It expects this fiscal year to collect $12.6 million from parking tickets, with $4.6 million needed to cover operating expenses. The $8 million in revenues will represent a small fraction of Santa Monica's $240-million general fund, which pays for essential city services.
Ewell said the city had not found anything to suggest that ACS was doing anything inappropriate. Rather, he said, "I think it speaks to a lack of internal controls in our system, and probably the systems throughout most municipalities."
Starting Oct. 1, motorists who believe that they have overpaid the city of Santa Monica for a parking citation should fill out a verification form at www.smgov.net.
martha.groves@latimes.com
