When the mayor of your town suggests that individuals complaining of noise violations near an airport should sell their homes to deaf people, you know you have a character on your hands. But when he backs up a city employee who tickets resident vehicles in their own driveways you may want to call the men in the white jackets.

That's exactly what happened in Toledo, Ohio. where last week Mayor Carty Finkbeiner supported the city safety director's decision to issue $25 fines to seven vehicles for parking on a gravel driveway; an action prohibited by the city charter.

While $175 is a drop in bucket compared to the city's budget troubles, residents are rightfully upset at the move, and feel that the city is simply trying to get more of their money. In many of the cases the vehicles were parked several car lengths away from the street, ruling out public safety as a motivator for writing the ticket. The safety director actually had to ignore a no-trespassing sign and pass through a fence to write some of the tickets!



However you look at it, the ticketing of cars parked on private property, which are not nuisance vehicles, is asinine. Even the city police union feels that the tickets are wrongfully issued; pointing out that the city's impound lot is covered in gravel and also in violation of the city charter.

The fact that Toledo's Mayor backed the move is a further testament to his Daily Show-worthy legacy and illustrates the lengths some officials will go to keep money in the city's coffers.