FERGUSON, Mo. – We’re hours away from Temp Tag Tuesday in the City of Ferguson, a new campaign to get expired temporary tags off the streets.
Debra Noblin purchased her SUV a few months ago. Her tags expired in March, but tough times delayed her from registering her ride.
“I’m saving up, and that’s hard because I have other bills too,” Noblin said.
She said it’s also very difficult to register a vehicle in the state of Missouri.
“We had to go down to St. Louis City, then we had to go back to the DMV,” Noblin said. “Then we didn’t have insurance, so we had to go bring proof of insurance, then we had to go back to where we bought the car to get the registration papers to say we paid for the car.”
Even with her dated tags, she welcomes the new initiative by the Ferguson Police Department, but only if it comes with an understanding.
“I think that’s a fair deal, as long as we’re not getting tickets for it because we all are struggling,” Noblin said.
Ferguson PD Sergeant Jill Gronewald said the campaign, which starts Tuesday is to bring awareness to what the department calls a rising problem.
“This isn’t to punish anyone. It’s more educational,” Gronewald said.
Gronewald said officers will not purposefully issue tickets to generate revenue.
“Maybe they’re having trouble with their electrical bill, utility bill, car payment, that’s keeping them behind,” she said. “We can also direct them to the right resources to get them some help.”
In Jefferson City, a bill is on the governor’s desk that would require dealerships to collect sales tax at the time a vehicle is purchased.
Customers would pay a lump sum before driving off the lot, or sales tax would be rolled into monthly payments, thus eliminating the need for a temporary tag.
“When you make ends– you then don’t make ends meet. The minimum wage is just a little bit,” Noblin said.
Noblin said living paycheck to paycheck is difficult, but with faith riding shotgun, everything will be okay.
“I put it in God’s hands, but yes. I take it to strides,” she said. “I just have to get where I’m going, and if I did get pulled over, I explain it to them.”
There’s no word on how long the Temp Tag Tuesday campaign will be operational.