City Hall remembers old fines
In a bid to buck up the finances of Greece’s largest municipality, Athens City Council has sent out some 360,000 demands for unpaid fines, mostly for illegal parking, some of which were imposed as long as 17 years ago. Athenians are being offered a substantial incentive to swiftly settle their debts to the municipality, with the promise that for outstanding fines paid until June 3, no surcharges or interest will be levied. Furthermore, debtors will be offered the option of paying in monthly installments. According to municipal authorities, some 400,000 Athenians owe the city a total of 70 million euros. Additional charges resulting from failure to pay in time amount to a further 68 million. So far, 358,000 demands have been posted. However, for fines pending from before 1997, the precise sum owed is not specified. In such cases, debtors will have to call the 195 hot line, or visit the municipal authority headquarters at 22 Liosion Ave. But it is by no means certain that the requested information will be available.
