This week, the message is about vehicles that are not properly registered within the town.
Colorado state law requires that all vehicles on public roadways or parked along public roadways be registered with a current registration and license plate. The town of Mancos also has a local ordinance requiring a vehicle be properly registered. This means even if its parked in front of your residence it has to be registerd.
We have a number of vehicles in Mancos that are not in compliance with this law. Now, we are NOT going to start writing tickets and towing vehicles this week because they are not currently up to date on the registration. Please understand that you cannot operate a vehicle on the roadway or highway if the registration is not current. With the holiday season upon us, we understand that things may be a little tight in the wallets and billfolds. So, if you have a vehicle parked on the roadway in front of your residence, we are not going to tag the vehicle with a 72 hour tag yet. Beginning in January 2013, however, we will begin tagging the vehicles with a 72-hour notice to bring the vehicle into compliance. This basically means you have three business days after receiving the notice to bring the registration up to date. If, after you receive a 72 hour notice, the vehicle has not been properly registered, please know that your vehicle can be towed until the registration is completed. The owner of the vehicle can also be issued a citation for having an expired/improper registration on the vehicle.
We do not want our citizens to have to pay a tow bill, and a citation fee on top of the registration fees, so please check your vehicles and make sure youre up to date. This is why I wanted to give notice that we are going to begin to enforce the law after the first of the year.
Remember, this is the law and everyone needs to comply.