On July 6th, Marietta will resume chalking tires to keep track of parking times for the first time since the practice was suspended in April of 2019. Safety Service Director of Marietta Steve Wetz spoke to WMOA about why the practice was stopped and how it will be put back into place.
"A court in Michigan had said that it was an illegal search to chalk peoples tires," Wetz stated. "We had to buy new signage that states that when you park on the streets in Marietta, you give consent to having your tires chalked. Now that we have the signs in place and the ordinance has been passed by city council, we are ready to go."
The court case Wetz was referring to was brought to the Sixth Circuit Court that oversees Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee last year after an Alison Taylor filed a lawsuit. The court initially ruled that the practice of chalking tires is unconstitutional and violates the fourth amendment regarding illegal and unreasonable searches.
West explained how the decision was made and what guidelines will allow the practice to resume.
"We had new ordinances passed in the city to allow this to happen," Wetz continued. "This is by following the guidlines of other cities in Ohio that have been doing it for a while (in regards) to the language on the signage."
Wetz also added where signs will be and what the changes will look like in Marietta.
"We have 5 larger signs that are posted at all the main arteries that come into town," Wetz said. "We purchased 72 smaller signs that will be posted along two-hour time limit parking areas where people can see when they pull in that they grant consent to have their tires chalked."
Wetz stated that the chalk will be a line placed on a certain point of the rotation of the tire so that authorities can see if the vehicle has been moved.
