HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-24-23 Public Comment - K. Collins bzn parking2From:K Collins
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment to City Commission Meeting July 25, 2023 re Residential Parking Permits
Date:Monday, July 24, 2023 5:38:18 PM
Attachments:bzn parking.doc
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Request you address our issues (attached) during the upcoming Commission meeting and include our
concerns in the meeting minutes.
Thank You,
K. Collins
Comments on Resolution 5495 on the agenda for the July 25, 2023 Commission Meeting.
Thank you for notifying us about the proposed rate increase and for providing
the budget spreadsheet for FY 23.
We request the Bozeman City Commission not increase rates for residential
parking permits for the following reasons.
In any business model (as taught at JABS School of Business unless I missed it),
falling sales of a product are not increased by raising the price of said product.
And, the FY 23 budget included in the mailing shows the city had an actual
surplus in both personnel and operating costs for the Residential Parking Permit District.
There are two distinct problems:
1. Multi-year trend in falling permit sales.
The trend according to the May 24 memorandum RESIDENTIAL PARKING
PERMIT DISTRICT FEES, paragraph two, reiterates “For several years before, staff had
tracked declining permit sales” and with the exception of one year, “sales resumed the
decreasing trend” in 2022. Adjust the budget to reflect the downward trend and then
assess the program and whether the end users (residents) are impacted by the reduction in
services.
2. Claim of insufficient funds for FY 24 operational costs not proven/not
identified.
According to the July 13, 2023 letter to MSU and BHS Residential Permit District
Residents, paragraph three states that permit fees are collected to “cover staffing and
other operational costs of the program”. But the Residential Parking Permit District FY
23 Budget (on page 2 of Resolution 5495) shows that actual expenditures for both admin
personnel and admin operating costs were under budget by 92% and 84% respectively.
So where is this shortfall projected for FY 24 that requires a $5/permit increase?
Income for the program has been taking a downward trend for years because of
“falling permit purchases”, paragraph one in the Memorandum for the Transportation
Advisory Board from Mike Veselik dated May 24, 2022. Raising the cost will not
increase permit sales. That may require reducing staff. No information was provided in
the mailing regarding staff sizes for either program administration or enforcement, so it is
difficult to make recommendations regarding staffing.
Why do the FY 23 Budget Expenditures exceed the FY 23 Budget Revenue and
why didn’t someone bring this to anyone’s attention on 1 July 2022?
The City ended FY 23 with a surplus across every column on the Residential
Parking Permit District spreadsheet on page 2 of Resolution 5495 which is great! Well
done.
What does the city do with the carryover surplus? Can those funds be allocated to
cover the shortfall in the parking permit operational costs rather than raise the rates for
residential parking permits? Consider this option.
Do not continue to raise rates because you can not manage your operational costs.
This will become an acceptable practice and being forced to manage programs and
budgets will no longer be important.
You want to generate more income for the entire program (Enforcement and
Admin), raise the fine for parking in the residential areas without a permit. Make the
offenders pay for your program.
Finally, we recommend you amend the resolution to add a final line reading “If
Resolution 5495 is passed, adopted and approved, Residential Parking Permit Fees will
be locked in at $36.75 for the next three years, and not addressed by the City Commission
for that period”.
Sincerely,
Bozeman residents struggling to keep our heads above water with all the increased taxes
and fees,
Mr. and Mrs. K. Collins