Parking Enforcement Workers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Enter and retrieve information pertaining to vehicle registration, identification, and status, using hand-held computers.
• Collect coins deposited in meters.
• Prepare and maintain required records, including logs of parking enforcement activities, and records of contested citations.
• Provide assistance to motorists needing help with problems, such as flat tires, keys locked in cars, or dead batteries.
• Maintain close communications with dispatching personnel, using two-way radios or cell phones.
• Respond to and make radio dispatch calls regarding parking violations and complaints.
• Write warnings and citations for illegally parked vehicles.
• Investigate and answer complaints regarding contested parking citations, determining their validity and routing them appropriately.
• Investigate and answer complaints regarding contested parking citations, determining their validity and routing them appropriately.
• Perform traffic control duties such as setting up barricades and temporary signs, placing bags on parking meters to limit their use, or directing traffic.
• Assign and review the work of subordinates.
• Patrol an assigned area by vehicle or on foot to ensure public compliance with existing parking ordinance.
• Make arrangements for illegally parked or abandoned vehicles to be towed, and direct tow-truck drivers to the correct vehicles.
• Perform simple vehicle maintenance procedures, such as checking oil and gas, and report mechanical problems to supervisors.
• Investigate and answer complaints regarding contested parking citations, determining their validity and routing them appropriately.
• Locate lost, stolen, and counterfeit parking permits, and take necessary enforcement action.
• Identify vehicles in violation of parking codes, checking with dispatchers when necessary to confirm identities or to determine whether vehicles need to be booted or towed.
• Provide information to the public regarding parking regulations and facilities, and the location of streets, buildings and points of interest.
• Train new or temporary staff.
• Appear in court at hearings regarding contested traffic citations.
• Mark tires of parked vehicles with chalk and record time of marking, and return at regular intervals to ensure that parking time limits are not exceeded.
• Make arrangements for illegally parked or abandoned vehicles to be towed, and direct tow-truck drivers to the correct vehicles.
• Wind parking meter clocks.
• Identify vehicles in violation of parking codes, checking with dispatchers when necessary to confirm identities or to determine whether vehicles need to be booted or towed.
• Perform traffic control duties such as setting up barricades and temporary signs, placing bags on parking meters to limit their use, or directing traffic.
• Maintain assigned equipment and supplies, such as hand-held citation computers, citation books, rain gear, tire-marking chalk, and street cones.
• Observe and report hazardous conditions, such as missing traffic signals or signs, and street markings that need to be repainted.

Skills

• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.

Abilities

• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

Knowledge

• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

70310/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

33.8/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

310

Yearly Projected Openings

40

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Attention to Detail
• Dependability
• Self-Control
• Integrity
• Stress Tolerance
• Cautiousness

Tools

• Automobiles or cars
• Bar code reader equipment
• Cash registers
• Desktop computers
• Digital cameras
• Laser printers
• Mountain bicycles
• Notebook computers
• Parking meters
• Point of sale POS receipt printers
• Portable data input terminals
• Security cameras
• Two way radios
• Wheel clamps

Technology

• Data base user interface and query software
• Electronic mail software
• Internet browser software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software