Those paid to follow the law, did not know the laws they were suppose to follow; but ignorance of the law is not a defense. Where was the city attorney that they did not know the law and know THEY were permitting an unlawful practice. Oh, that’s right, taxpayers cannot sue the officials that work for them for doing a lousy job; they cannot even call negligent official conduct illegal, and have the culprits prosecuted.
This is under the unwritten “law of grazing”. Cities, banks, etc... often create revenue streams based on ignoring a law or through fraud and charge a fine that’s small enough 99% will always pay it and they generally just give the squeaky wheel their money back.
It’s why I contest everything.
Not long ago banks were paying hefty fines for processing accountholders debits ahead of their deposits, they would actually hold the received deposit and run through debits until something bounced, then credit the deposit and soak for fees.
Municipalities have been repeatedly caught shortening yellow light times for red light cameras.
The whole purpose has gone from trying to deter an undesired or unsafe behavior to grazing on the masses by small fees and fines that over large numbers of citizens adds up to tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. You should contest citations and fines just to keep them honest.