TAMPA, Fla. - Looking for a way out of a parking ticket? Donate some canned goods to a food bank.
That's a proposal being considered by the Tampa City Council. The program would run for about a month over the winter holidays.
Councilman Guido Maniscalco tells The Tampa Tribune the idea is to let people pay off some of their parking fines by donating food to the needy.
Tallahassee launched a similar program in November that lets first-time parking offenders get $1 of credit toward their fine for every food item donated. The cap is $50. The program brought in 297 pounds of food, enough for 250 meals.
Tampa officials will consider the proposal on Thursday. Most parking fines in Tampa run $25 or $30. Parking in a handicapped spot runs $251.
