HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-11-23 Public Comment - B. Antonopulos - Tonight's city commission parking discussionFrom:Beth Antonopulos
To:Agenda
Cc:Mike Veselik
Subject:Tonight"s city commission parking discussion
Date:Tuesday, July 11, 2023 11:18:08 AM
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Dear Bozeman City Commissioners,
I may not be able to make tonight’s meeting to comment about the parking issues on the agenda. Therefore, I amwriting to express a few ideas.
First, we only received notice of this discussion in Friday afternoon’s mail. This is a very quick turnaround(especially during the height of summer vacation times) to expect citizen participation on an issue our neighborhoodholds as a priority for maintaining residential character. The short notice is especially baffling since the letter wereceived is dated June 22, 2023!
Second, as the letter mentions, the MSU permit area neighbors asked for more transparency in management. Wewant to be able to evaluate the budget information that is relevant to the permit areas separately from the parkinggarages, lots, etc. The notice mentions there is a deficit between permit revenue and costs for the permits and givesnumbers of permits sold and administration costs. However, we could not find any information on enforcementrevenue or costs (separated out for the residential permit areas) in the notice or online. While it may be “bestpractice” to use enforcement revenue to pay for enforcement (rather than management) costs, we don’t knowwhether this part of the district is making money, breaking even, or running a deficit. Because the current permitdeficit is small relative to the overall parking budget, wouldn’t it make sense to look at whether any enforcementrevenue could balance things enough to avoid extra charges to permit holders? Where would any excessenforcement revenue go - to the parking reserve fund? Does it make sense for any possible excess revenue to gotowards general uses when the permit area that generates it is being charged more for operations? Please ask citystaff to explain this issue before voting to increase permit fees.
If there is no extra revenue from enforcement of the permit areas, then it does make sense to increase the permit feesmodestly to keep the program revenue neutral. However, our MSU neighborhood just received eye-poppingincreases in property assessments. No matter what happens with the mills, it looks like we will be facing a verysignificant tax increase at the end of the year. Please do everything you can to keep costs low.
On that note, the city notice mentioned the strain on staff (and presumably the administration budget) of processingall the permits at one time. This need is an artifact of the old system of colored stickers. With the current scanningsystem, why not just let the permits be available for one year based on the date of purchase? Over time, that wouldspread out the renewal process throughout the year, placing less strain on staff, and hopefully reducing costs.
Finally, in considering the bigger picture, I would ask that you remove the residential permit districts from theupcoming “comprehensive parking and curb management strategy” development that is planned for the next year.Our permit districts are tailored to work for the particular parking issues brought up by each physical location, andthey achieve the goals set for them. There is no need to reopen or “reform” their management when we have othermuch more pressing parking issues in the city to solve. Please keep in mind that the permit budget deficits aresomewhere around $15,000 per year - small potatoes in the parking department’s overall budget. Couldn’t we find acombination of permit charges and also use citation revenue to balance this rather than starting from scratch? Savethe expensive consulting work for solving open problems rather than disrupting a working system.
The residential parking areas contribute hugely to maintaining a livable environment so close to MSU and BHS.They keep our neighborhoods walkable and bikeable for all ages, prevent constantly circulating cars fromdominating the school day hours, reduce pollution, and encourage sustainable transportation. Thank you forcontinuing this working program!
Sincerely,
Beth Antonopulos