In July 1990 UT administrators discovered that parking fines collected for 1987–88 and 1988–89 exceeded the amounts approved by the State. The 1989–90 Rules of the State of Tennessee listed fines 30 to 50 percent less than those being charged. University officials lowered the fines on July 16 to the published rates. The university had raised fines without proper approval on three separate occasions during the past three academic years, failing on two occasions to receive approval from the board of trustees for the increases. A new fine schedule reflecting the higher fees was approved by the board of trustees in June 1990, with the fines to take effect the beginning of the fall semester.
Vice Chancellor Philip Scheurer announced on July 23 that reimbursements of improperly charged parking fines would be distributed to parking patrons and that individuals needed to file a request for reimbursement prior to December 2, 1990. Scheurer appeared before the Tennessee Government Operations Committee on August 21 and indicated that the projected $300,000 anticipated to be paid out in reimbursements would be taken from a “reserve fund” administered by the UT Traffic and Parking Committee. Only if the final refund amount exceeded the reserve holdings would the money come from an alternative source, such as parking fees. Scheurer explained to the Government Operations Committee that copies of the new fine schedules were lost twice—first in the attorney general’s office and then in the secretary of state’s office. In January 1991 Parking Services reported that it had processed 4,555 of the 5,459 requests for refunds it had received and had refunded $183,773.