HELENA – The Helena Police Department has added a new way for the public to report abandoned vehicles.
People now have the option to log on to the city’s website and fill out a form.
The report must provide a description of the vehicle and includes an option to upload a picture.
City ordinance requires vehicles parked on the street to be moved at least once every 72 hours.
Lieutenant Jason Zander said once you submit the form, it will be sent to the abandoned vehicle officer for further action.
“We obviously don’t want excess vehicles sitting around taking up valuable parking places for the public to use,” Zander said. “The property owners can sometimes get frustrated if there’s a lot of vehicles sitting around not being used, which is what an abandoned vehicle is. They can call and report that, and again get online and report it.”
The form can only be used to report vehicles inside Helena city limits.
The city ordinance still requires a process to remove a vehicle, which takes at least eight days – from the day the officer first checks on the vehicle.
If a vehicle is not moved/removed by the owner after being deemed abandoned, it may still take around two weeks to have the vehicle removed through the abandoned ordinance.
