So, I actually had an issue with this last year but the resolution was ultimately pretty okay...just took ages.

Got a ticket in August or September of 2021 that I disputed. By January, it was still under review and the fact that it was unpaid was preventing me from ordering my 2022 resident pass. After grumbling about it a bit, I decided the $30 wasn't worth the trouble and just paid the ticket in order to get my new permits. Sometime around February or March, I got a notice in the mail that they had finally found in my favor and were going to toss out the ticket and that I would no longer be on the hook for what was now listed as a $0.00 infraction. I was annoyed, grumbled some more, and went about my life. Then, about two months ago (more than a year after the original ticket, 6 or so months after they tossed out the ticket), I suddenly received a $30 check in the mail from the city.

Took forever and a day but everything eventually worked out.