Posted on 10/12/2002 8:55:37 AM PDT by Sweet_Sunflower29
North Randall Mayor Shelton Richardson fumes when he sees gas stations in his community that demand that customers pay before they pump, a practice he calls racist.
The requirement is insulting and implies a presumption that customers will steal, he says. He wants to outlaw it.
But gas station owners say the pay-first policy is not a matter of race, said Pat LaVecchia, president of an Ohio gas station association. It is an effective way to battle gas theft.
LaVecchia said gas stations in predominantly white communities, such as North Olmsted, Fairview Park and Parma, have the same policy. LaVecchia, who owns a gas station in Rocky River, does not.
No gas station in North Randall could require payment first if City Council adopts Richardson's proposal to ban pay-first policies Monday night. It would be the first such law in the state, LaVecchia said.
Richardson feels so strongly about the issue that he has moved the city's $7,000-a-year fuel contract from a station that requires prepaying to one that does not.
"For a long time, I have felt that's a racist, discriminatory practice. They are profiling the African-American community," Richardson said. "They are treating us like we are thieves."
North Randall police receive few complaints about gas thefts, so prepayment is not necessary, he said.
"To treat us any different is racist," Richardson said. "It's ridiculous. We want it stopped."
Prepayment is required around the clock at the 24-hour Shell station at the corner of Warrensville and Emery roads in North Randall. Manager Mike Jadallah said he would comply if the new law is approved. But he thinks he should be able to decide how he runs his business.
"Is the city going to cover our losses?" he asked.
Paying first is the only way for gas station owners to assure getting paid at all, said Ralph Bombardiere, executive director of the Gasoline and Automotive Service Dealers Association in New York City.
Bombardiere said that prepaying is required at virtually all gas stations in New York, where the number of "drive-offs" has grown in recent years.
"All kinds of people drive off. It's not one particular group," he said. "They cheat us equally."
Some businesses lose up to $2,000 a year in drive-offs, said LaVecchia, whose group has about 600 members.
The association is trying to get state legislation passed to suspend driver's licenses of those caught pumping and jumping. Other states, such as Michigan, Kentucky and Indiana, have similar laws.
The fleeing drivers put other customers in danger and often damage gas station property, LaVecchia said.
"It's a dangerous form of shoplifting."
It isn't racist unless one particular group has to pay first and others don't!
{sarcasm}
What about "The Man" in his eeeevil polluting SUV? After he sees the enormous bill for filling up his 5 mpg behemoth, isn't he likely to pump and run? I demand an end to this discrimination against the rich.
{/sarcasm}
Are you forced to pre-pay? Where do you solicit?
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