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There were four snowstorms in January and more than 450 tickets issued to residents and businesses for not shoveling their sidewalks.

The borough's ordinance -- which requires businesses to shovel snow within two hours of the cessation of snowfall or two hours after daylight after a snowfall, and residences off the main thoroughfares to shovel within 12 hours after daylight after it snows -- is not new.

"This has been here as long as I've been here and I started in 1986," said Highland Park Police Chief Stephen Rizco. "It's a public safety issue.... But because of the number of storms and the number of summonses issued its caused a degree of" complaints. But he's also had complaints from residents on the other side of the issue -- complaining about people who haven't shoveled.

But Deborah Atlas said her family is "in the habit of shoveling" and that she's sure her family shoveled after every storm, and yet was issued a ticket for Jan. 16.

Atlas was one of many residents who commented about the tickets on Highland Park message boards and email groups.

"We received it in the mail on Jan. 21... I was very confused," Atlas said. "Why would they send something in the mail? If you actually want people to shovel they should leave it in the door. You usually don't remember what happened four or five days before. Sending it in the mail was like (the borough telling her) 'We want your $55'."

Rizco has heard comments from people regarding the tickets to be a way for the borough to rake in the cash, or that police were asked to increase the ticket count for political reasons. He said both were untrue.

"It's nothing more than public safety -- people walk to houses of worship, students walk to school, elderly people and other people end up walking in the road and it's not safe. I wish people would understand that."

Rizco said the police department usually enforces the ordinance, but usually such enforcement takes a step back in priority to other, more pressing police calls. Last year was an unusually warm winter with few storms, he said. Most snowstorms average about 100 summonses he said. If walks aren't shoveled and become icy people can slip and fall. A police dispatcher actually fell and broke her ankle due to a slippery pathway, he said.

"If there is an effort made to shovel the sidewalk we don't give a ticket," he said. "There was one gentleman who called, who was recuperating in the hospital (from surgery), and in such a case the officer asked the judge to make an exception due to extenuating circumstances."

Dena Lieblich owns a Raritan Avenue business, and received an $80 ticket for Jan. 19, when her son had shoveled snow on Sunday and Monday. She said she had an attorney go to court with her. Her court date was rescheduled by the judge.

"He (Herman) browbeat people into paying and then the officer wasn't there so it needed to be rescheduled," Lieblich said. "He said unless you have compelling proof, you will have to pay the ticket. I believe police officers are doing this to raise money for the town. What is this about? I feel like I'm being abused."

"No one's saying they don't want to shovel," Liebich said. "Now I'm taking pictures every time (we) shovel. What makes a picture mean anything? I set the date on the camera."

Rizco said his department is working to improve the process. They're trying to remind everyone to shovel using the borough's Web site, HPTV (Highland Park's cable television channel), hand-delivered flyers to merchants, and at the beginning of the next winter season will use the borough's new emergency notification system making telephone calls to every person in the community about shoveling.

"We can't [call residents] every storm. We're taking steps to improve our process," Rizco said. "If possible, we're going to try to photograph these situations. I want to be fair, I don't want to hurt our residents.... We used to provide warnings in writing and it did nothing for compliance."

The definition of a reasonable attempt also could change, he said. In a two-foot blizzard, it's more difficult to shovel than a two-inch storm.

"I leave it up to the courts. Either it has a layer of snow or it doesn't," he said.

Atlas went to court to fight the ticket, struck up a conversation with another snow summons holder and realized their two tickets were given by the same officer, on the same day, at the same time. But the women live two blocks apart.

"That's just not possible," she said. "If they were concerned about having a safe place for people to walk, they wouldn't just be issuing tickets. When you get a parking ticket it's not in the mail a week later, it's on your car."

Rizco explained the snow ticket procedure. After it snows, if a police officer is available, the officer drives around and examines property to consider whether there has been an attempt to shovel. The officer makes of list of those that don't and returns to the police department headquarters to complete the rest of the paperwork. If the officer is at the end of a shift followed by days off, it could be several days before the paperwork (including looking up property owner names in the tax rolls) is completed and a ticket is mailed out. While officers should indicate the day and time they saw the unshoveled property, sometimes the ticket is written with the day and time the paperwork is filled out.

Atlas said Highland Park Municipal Court Judge Edward Herman told them snow ticket cases would be heard after DWIs.

"It basically seemed like a ploy by the town -- let's issue 500 snow tickets at $55 to $80 a pop and that's how we'll raise $30,000," Atlas said. "It's very, very aggravating that people who pay $15,000 in taxes a year are getting tickets they can't even fight -- you lose a day's pay or time you don't have to fight a ticket. People are being nickeled and dimed."

Atlas said she saw people walk into the courtroom with weather printouts to prove it hadn't been 12 hours since snow stopped falling.

As for those who said they shoveled snow on the day in question -- Rizco said he wouldn't want to speculate whether people were lying, or shoveled but failed to do an adequate job.

"It's the officer who goes out and sees whether an effort was made," he said.

Atlas said on the same day that she was issued her ticket for not shoveling (after she claims to have shoveled) her mother came to visit and almost fell in the street as she exited the car because Atlas' side of the street hadn't been plowed.

Atlas said, "I would like to give Highland Park a ticket."