The squeaky wheel gets the oil – and this is just the case with a few squeaky Memphis residents who want parking ordinance violations enforced and the fines increased.

The Memphis Flyer recently profiled a Memphis resident who admits to being a thorn in the side of Memphis Code Enforcement. His chief complaint: people who park their vehicles – including big rigs – in violation of city codes.

Tom Nehring has been reporting code violators in his east Memphis neighborhood for the past six years, according to The Flyer. And most of the properties he’s reported have been the same ones repeatedly.

Nehring’s persistence on enforcing a city code that precludes vehicles from parking on the grass recently brought the matter to the attention of two city councilmembers.

And when the subject of parking came up, you guessed it, one city councilmember decided to bag on truckers for a while.

“I support anyone trying to make a living – sometimes I think I should be driving a truck – but we can’t allow tractor trailer trucks to destroy our neighborhoods,” Councilman E.C. Jones said, according to The Flyer.

According to the newspaper, if a truck is parked on a residential street, the police can write a ticket. But if it’s on the grass, code enforcement is called in.

Jones pointed out that the problem mainly exists around holidays and on nights and weekends – when the code enforcement office is closed. So, if a complaint is called in, it’s generally not investigated until the next business day when the allegedly offending truck is no longer there.

The Memphis police director chimed in and said that the $50 fee for code violations isn’t enough to deter truckers from parking at their homes.

“… these are high-dollar pieces of equipment. (Drivers would) just as soon pay the $50 fine,” said Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin.

The kicker is even if a trucker is cited; he or she has 30 days to remove the vehicle. Once the code enforcement office follows up and the truck is gone – the case is closed.

The result of the habitual complainer in the east Memphis neighborhood is that truckers may now face increased code enforcement, higher fines and possibly the tag of being a repeat offender – even more and higher fines.