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The ordinance designed to address a controversial city parking policy was further delayed before its scheduled second reading at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. As we reported on Monday, officials from the Jersey City Parking Authority and some members of the City Council wished to table the ordinance in order to work out some outstanding questions about its implementation.

The ordinance first came before the council in January 2009, when it was withdrawn for revision. At that time, City Clerk Robert Byrne asked the council to return it to the agenda in two weeks’ time, saying the proposed ordinance had already been “committeed to death.”

At issue is the attempt to eliminate the city’s practice of placing a vehicle immobilization device, or boot, on the first offense in certain “zero-tolerance zones,” a policy which has caused an uproar among residents and visitors to the city who were unaware of it until they were hit with a boot. Ward E councilman Steven Fulop introduced the ordinance in order to eliminate all instances of first-offense booting in the city.

At Monday’s caucus, Fulop characterized first-offense booting as “unconstitutional,” likening it to confiscating private property without due process. A Law Department memo distributed to the City Council just before Wednesday’s meeting disagreed, saying the practice does not deprive residents of their constitutional rights. As he promised he would, Ward D councilman Bill Gaughan moved to table the ordinance on the strength of the Law Department’s finding.

The ordinance was successfully tabled, with only Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson and Fulop himself voting to keep it on Wednesday’s agenda. Ward A councilman Michael Sottolano said the bill is “very close to being a final product” and remarked that another two-week delay “won’t hurt the process.” The other council members voting in favor of tabling echoed these sentiments. Each vote to table prompted raucous jeers from the more than 300 residents in attendance, who were on hand to protest the proposed municipal budget introduced at the Jan. 13 meeting — a budget that includes a 25 percent property tax increase.

Fulop took the opportunity during his vote to address the assembled community members, calling first-offense booting a “backdoor tax” on residents. His remarks as he voted against tabling were capped by thunderous applause from the audience, which provoked Council President Peter Brennan to threaten their removal.

“We are in a fire code violation here,” he said. “If you can’t behave yourselves, you will be removed,” he said. The crowd showed its appreciation for the threat with renewed jeering and whistles.

Richardson pointed out that the council has approved “ordinances like this” in the past, where additional details need to be worked out after the fact. “At this point we can work through whatever we don’t agree on,” she said as she cast a vote against tabling.