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Home My WebLink About07-24-23 Public Comment - C. Selby - on proposed fee increase for parking districtsFrom:cselby@bresnan.net To:Agenda Subject:[EXTERNAL]Comment on proposed fee increase for parking districts Date:Tuesday, July 25, 2023 9:35:31 AM Attachments:Public Comment on Resolution 5495 MSU and BHS Residential Permit.docx CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Public Comment on Resolu�on 5495 MSU and BHS Residen�al Permit Corinne Selby 709 S 6th Ave Bozeman, MT 59715 406-587-4007 Dear Bozeman City Commissioners, I would like to comment on some of the informa�on presented by M. Veselik and ask that you defer the increase in parking permit fees for the MSU and BHS parking districts un�l we have all of the data requested below: 1. The permit fee was established at $10 in 1993 and was increased by $5 in 2019. The City Commission did not approve a $15 or a $5 increase in 2020. So why did a permit cost $30 (plus the convenience fee) in 2022? 2. Administra�on fees are paid for by permit fees. Administra�on includes 1/6 �me for the parking manager and ½ �me for an accoun�ng finance specialist. According to the report provided by M. Veselik, “parking staff process more than 2,000 applica�ons for parking permits in only a few weeks during the renewal season.” He also notes that approximately 1400 permits were sold over the year. He did not provide numbers on how many of the permits were renewed online (I know that my 4 permits were renewed online). If we allow 2000 permits processed at an average of 15 minutes per permit (my first ones took about 5 minutes), it might require about 500 hours of �me – more like ¼ �me for an accoun�ng specialist. If we take the 1400 permits that Mike indicated were sold in 2023, the �me required might be more like 350 hours (closer to 15%). This would bring the costs and revenue much closer. If you look at the FY22 Actual Parking fund versus the FY 24 Recommended (page 48 of the online budget report), you will see that salaries and benefits have increased from $386,769 to $591,200, opera�ons and maintenance have increased from $477,292 to $693,900 and the most striking increase is in Capital outlay which was $66,666 in FY22 and is recommended to be $500,000 in FY 24. What is this for? Why are costs rising so much? The budget for the parking fund needs to be explained in much more detail if you want to jus�fy any increase in fees. 3. It was quite apparent at the July 11 Commission hearing that the Commissioners believe that a $5 fee increase is very minimal and perhaps that is the case for working people who get an annual cost of living increase on their salaries. Not everyone is so fortunate. The MSU parking district also happens to be in the historic part of Bozeman. While it is a lovely old part of town, it also incurs several Bozeman Special assessments: Arterial & Collector Parks & Trials District Street Maintenance Tree Maintenance S 6th Reconstruc�on fee These cost over $450 per year and that is on top of very high property taxes. Adding another $140 per year just to be able to park on my street (or have visitors be able to park somewhat close to my house) seems a bit much. 4. Mike also seems to think that residents are benefi�ng from this exclusive parking district (where you must live in the district to get a permit). It seems to me that we should consider that the presence of MSU is causing a neighborhood problem that would not exist if the student popula�on had not increased from about 10,000 in 1990 to over 16,000 in 2023. The presence of MSU benefits the en�re city and, in my opinion, the parking issue should be addressed as a community problem and not a neighborhood problem. 5. So much of the Parking Division efforts seem to be on the downtown parking issues. Perhaps the fee increases need to applied to the parking garage fees or else to the large businesses that require employee parking in the downtown area. Once again, it is not just the adjacent homeowners who benefit from a vibrant downtown, The en�re community benefits and ought to help support the programs required to provide appropriate parking regula�ons. Personally, I believe that downtown businesses will suffer when paid parking is implemented. Enforcement budget and expenses – please provide this data. Are the cars considered capital outlay or enforcement expenses? From the 2022 Bozeman Budget Report (page 101) and the 2023 Report (page 93): Operate the Parking Services Division in an effec�ve and fiscally sustainable manner – This does not seem to be happening! Costs keep going up. 7.3 Best Prac�ces, Crea�vity, and Foresight- push our license plate reader technology to the very edge of its capabili�es, collabora�ng with our partners in GIS to find innova�ve ways to share data – I cannot find any data online. How many cita�ons? How o�en is a street checked? FY21 Accomplishments • Implemented the Passport Parking App, crea�ng a more enjoyable parking experience for all users. Was this accomplished in FY21 or in FY22? FY22 Accomplishments • Transi�oned our parking so�ware from T2 to Passport which will result in cost savings and a beter experience for staff and customers. Where are the cost savings?