GREENSBURG, Pa. -- Nearly 800 unpaid parking tickets in the city of Greensburg have local officials taking action.

WTAE Channel 4's news partners at the Tribune-Review said Greensburg officials have hired two firms to help collect thousands of dollars in outstanding revenue.

Those two companies have been hired to go after the money with the help of local magistrates. If caught, the judges can issue a warrant for your arrest and you'll have to pay up or go to jail.

But if you're lucky the companies will only take you to a collection agency, which will increase your fine by 25 percent.

Greensburg's problem is so major, officials said, because there is a lack of parking around the courthouse. And since many of the people who visit it aren't from the area, it's hard for police to collect the money

But according to the Trib, the county is going to try, because they'll get a huge chunk for court costs from the $60,000 of unpaid fines in Greensburg.

The rest of the money, which is a much smaller portion, would go to the city itself.

"While we were surprised at the high amount, we did find out later that we can only get back a portion of that, about $8,000, but hey, we will take any amount of money we can get," said Greensburg city manager Sue Trout.

Greensburg has two parking enforcement officers that statistics show writes about 150 tickets a day. Three tickets will result in a "boot" being put on your car. And after couple of weeks of not paying, one of the county-hired collectors could show up at your door.

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