Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
This past November, The Cincinnati Beacon talked with Joe Gray, the City’s Finance Director. He showed us projections based on dollars lost from the Fountain Square parking garage revenue stream being diverted to 3CDC for the next several decades. The missing money, he said, was a hit on the parking system, and it would require rate increases across the board to off-set the lost revenue stream. And, according to an article in today’s Enquirer, parking meter hikes are becoming a reality.
(When The Enquirer takes that link offline, you can find the article for free via NewsBank with a public library card—just search for “Parking price rises at downtown meters.")
From the article:
The change will make all meters cost the same in the area bounded by Third and 12th streets, John Street and Eggleston Avenue. The city bought 1,200 new $245 timing devices, which will be programmed with the new prices, to be installed in existing meters soon.
The increase could raise about $250,000 more a year in parkers’ coins, said Bob Schroer, parking superintendent.
When 3CDC gave the City $7.5 million (after the City gave 3CDC $4 million), that money went into the restricted parking budget, to help offset the hit to that system from the lost Fountain Square garage dollars. The old garage brought in over $1 million annually. While the $250,000 is not enough to replace the missing stream, it can continue to help offset the affect since the $7.5 has not been used yet. This move helps cover those lost expenses for about another decade.
In any event, The Enquirer failed to get at a possible reason for rate hikes in the parking system. Could it be because Margaret Buchanan sits on the 3CDC board?
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