Tagged: springfield

The city of Springfield Massachusetts began using new technology today in a bid to collect more than $11 million   owed it by scofflaws.  WAMC”s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

      Devices mounted on traffic enforcement vehicles scan license plates on cars and trucks parked on Springfield streets and instantly alert the enforcement officials if there are  outstanding parking tickets or unpaid excise tax bills.   Springfield City Treasurer-Collector Stephen Lonergan says the vehicle will be booted or towed and impounded until the owner pays  up.

Information about how taxpayer’s money is being spent can be just a few mouse clicks away. There’s a growing government transparency movement that Massachusetts appears to be in front of  to give the public a clearer look at how their money is spent.  WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

Another public works project is planned in an historic part of downtown Springfield. It is an area of the city that has already seen close to $200 million in government investment over the last decade. WAMC”s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

      The historic Armory-Quadrangle neighborhood will undergo aesthetic improvements beginning next fall with a project to repave streets, replace sidewalks, put in new street lights and green spaces. It is to be paid for with $1.6 million in federal money obtained as earmarks by Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal

A federal court ruling clears the way for the city of Springfield Massachusetts to implement a foreclosure ordinance.  Housing rights advocates predict the local law will become a model for other cities and states struggling with the blight caused by foreclosed vacant property.  WAMC”s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.