Parking enforcement budget discussed

Downtown parking meter enforcement was the main focus of Thursday’s 2014 budget hearing, where City of Bloomington departments presented proposals for the upcoming fiscal year. Budget hearings ended Thursday after four days.

On Thursday, budgets for various entities of the Public Works Department, including Sanitation, Parking Enforcement and Animal Control, were discussed.

Discussed to help enforce downtown parking is the Rapid Response Team, which is expected to help keep downtown Bloomington clean by completing tasks such as power washing sidewalks and weeding, said Susie Johnson, public works director for the City of Bloomington.

The Rapid Response team will also increase graffiti ratification efforts downtown.
“They will be the team that handles weird things that happen downtown that need attention,” Johnson said.

Another addition to the parking enforcement budget will be an added staff member to increase presence in parking garages. The 2014 budget also includes parking enforcement officers, who are available to assist people with parking meters.

Johnson said the parking enforcement officers have already been on the streets greeting people, asking if they need help with the meters and telling them about the parking garage availability.

“Two or three times I have been approached out on Sixth Street by people willing to talk about the meters,” City Council Member Stephen Volan said, “I am happy that this is being done. This is one of the more complicated changes to city policy that we’ve done in a while.”

Marty Spechler, city council member, said the parking enforcement should make sure that property owners are not at a disadvantage, as those who do not want to pay to park may go to the edge of parking zones and take advantage of other’s properties.

For those who do not wish to pay to park, there are free spots available throughout downtown. For the first three hours, free parking is available in the Walnut Street Garage, Fourth Street Garage, and parking lots located at Fourth and Washington streets, Sixth and Lincoln streets and Third and Washington streets. 

“I think it was a really good idea to leave free spots. It helps people who think the meters are an imposition on their cash flow,” Chris Sturbaum, city council member said. “I hope we get to a spot where we put in our quarters and know that we are supporting downtown. I am hoping people decide to grin and bear it.”

Johnson said increases in the 2014 parking enforcement budget will help increase income from the new parking meters. As a result, the meter fund will allow investments in downtown, she said.

Volan said he would like to see pie charts that demonstrate the revenue being brought in by the parking meters for the next hearing of the 2014 parking enforcement budget.

“We need to know to what extent the revenues are covering the expenditure of generating the revenues,” Spelcher said. “We need a revenue and expense quota for parking. We wouldn’t have the Rapid Response Team, parking garage improvements and such without the revenue.”