Wishing Ambulance, the foundation that helps the terminally ill grant their last wishes, received a parking ticket on its way to pick up a guest. According to the foundation, the fine is understandable, but the municipality’s response to the opposition has been ‘painful’. The municipality has finally decided to withdraw the fine for parking and apologizes.
When the employees of the wish ambulance picked up a guest on the Vlietstraat south, the car was temporarily parked without paying. Subsequently, a parking ticket fell on the carpet at the foundation. “We think a council scan car went by and then put us on the list,” says employee Peter Butter. “Obviously we are not an ambulance in the sense of the word, because we are not an emergency vehicle. We know we have received the imprint.”
Objection rejected
What the ambulance wishes it understood less well was how the Municipality handled the contestation of the fine. “We had contested the fine as we did not agree with the fine. We were told we still have to pay the fine, we were reasonable about it pissed off about,” Butter says. “Usually it’s not a problem what we do, this was our first time. We felt that the municipality could have reacted with a little more leniency to the objection.”
According to the municipality, parking fees must be paid if the vehicle is stationary. “Even if, for example, you leave one or more passengers in the car, leave the engine running, have your hazard lights on or load or unload a full shopping bag,” reads the response to the objection .
High appeal costs
The wish ambulance is faced with a problem due to the rejection of the objection. To appeal, the foundation must pay 365 euros, money they cannot afford to lose. “We depend on donations and gifts. The costs for the profession are around 200 liters of diesel. Then there is still the risk that we will still have to pay.”
The City apologizes
After asking from AT 5 The municipality has decided to withdraw the fine for parking. “The municipality considers personalization important, but unfortunately it is not always possible due to the more than 70,000 objections we receive,” replies the municipality. “In this case, we will withdraw the additional tax assessment/parking fine and Wish Ambulance Foundation volunteers apologize.”
The ambulance of wishes is delighted with the withdrawal of the fine. “We’re delighted that Council sees our added value in what we do for the city,” says Butter. “We’ve also spoken to the ombudsman, who will be speaking to council to see if anything can be sorted out for us on a structural basis.”
