Fines to be hiked: Public hearing set Sept. 25 regarding big penalties for big trucks

VILLAGE OF LIVERPOOL – The Village of Liverpool Board of Trustees will conduct a public hearing at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, at the village hall to get feedback about its plan to increase fines on big trucks.
At its July 10 meeting, the village board approved a new local law prohibiting the operation of trucks weighing more than five tons within the village. The law specifically targets “truck, trailers and tractor-trailer combinations.”
The current fine is $50, but the trustees have proposed raising that penalty to $1,200 for trucks and their loads totaling between five tons and seven-and-a-half tons. For weights between seven-and-a-half tons and 10 tons the fine would be $1,700.
The penalties get progressively higher for higher weights, with the top fine listed as $4,700 for trucks and their loads weighing 22.5 tons or more.
“The newly suggested penalties align with those of New York State,” said Mayor Stacy Finney.
The new local law, which was drafted by the previous board of trustees headed by Mayor Gary White, aims to “regulate and control land use and to protect the health, safety and welfare of its residents as well as the integrity of village thoroughfares.”
The resolution to create the law cited a December 2022 truck and traffic study conducted here by civil engineers Barton & Loguidice which documented existing traffic patterns and applicable laws, engineering design standards and signage.
The law includes a notable exclusion, allowing trucks of all weights to make local deliveries and pickups.
A public hearing about the new law on July 10 drew only one speaker.
First Street resident Joe Ostuni Jr. said he appreciated the new law’s intent and urged the trustees to back it up by enforcing heavy fines.