Local wardens have never operated under any quotas that force them to issue a set number of fines per day, according to the chairman of the biggest warden agency.
Kenneth De Martino, of Guard and Warden Services, said neither his company nor any other warden agency has ever imposed quotas on local wardens.
“Warden companies are not paid according to the number of tickets issued but for hours deployed. This means there is no reason whatsoever for any quotas to be imposed,” he said.
Mr De Martino was reacting after Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Stefan Buontempo said on Tuesday that quotas for fines would be scrapped by the end of the year.
They are not paid according to the number of tickets issued but for hours deployed
Speaking at a public consultation meeting, Dr Buontempo said wardens were bound to issue a set number of fines per day in order to ensure they received a wage. This was leading to bad practices that were far from transparent, he added, recounting episodes that had led to complaints.
Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop told Times of Malta that local councils had never instructed warden agencies to impose quotas on their wardens.
“This perception seems to stem from the fact that people believe that because the company involved is a private one, it must issue a certain number of tickets to cover its expenses,” Mr Chircop said. “This is absolutely not the case.”
Warden agencies, he said, were contracted by the regional councils which in turn allocated a number of hours to be divided among the local councils.
The funds from the fines covered the expenses incurred by the company, by Transport Malta and by the regions. The rest was channelled into the livelihood of the regional council.
Asked for comment yesterday, Dr Buontempo said it was commonly known there were systems which were tantamount to, if not actual, quota systems.
“No amount of denial can shake off the impression that wardens are out to get you, rather than just seeing that things are run smoothly in the streets,” he said.
Żejtun mayor Joe Attard said that although the directors of warden agencies did not impose quotas, wardens knew their performance was monitored and measured by the tickets they issued per hour.
Ever since September 2011, when the local warden system was passed on to the regional councils, local councils had not had any control of wardens.
Mr Attard pointed out that wardens have been known to dish out two tickets to the same car for the same offence, such as being parked at a corner and on a double yellow line.
At times it was the system itself which duplicated tickets, such as: “Licence not paid” and “Licence not affixed”.
“So Dr Buontempo is right in saying that a ‘quota’ exists and the unit he is proposing makes a lot of sense since it will look into these deficiencies and control them.”
The issue of warden ticket quotas is part of the debate on a reform which includes the setting up of a new central government agency to regulate the sector.
Its aim, said Dr Buontempo, is to monitor and improve the service and have a local enforcement system that promotes education and justice.
The Opposition, however, wants the legal notice setting up the agency repealed, arguing centralisation is against the principle of devolving power to local councils.
But Mr De Martino believes that having a centralised policymaking entity in place rather than a regional entity would facilitate the quality of service offered and streamline the operational processes.
“The idea is to be able to have an enforcement system which is focused on education, deterrence and enforcement. Our understanding is that any funds received from the enforcement system will still be retained by the local councils.”