Parking Enterprise Fund in Trouble
According to the TNT, a recent analysis of the City of Tacoma’s parking enterprise fund has revealed that it is no long self sustaining and it will cross into the red beginning in two years.
The parking enterprise fund is intended to be a self-sustaining system for managing the municipal parking garages. Bonds have been issued over the years to build or expand garages including those at the convention center, on A street, and Park Plaza South. Revenue from these, and other, off street lots plus the newly implemented on street parking meters feed back into the system.
Our municipal bond debts are coming due and the garages require ongoing maintenance. Now we’re in trouble.
What happened? While on street paid parking has helped the fund, off street garage use dropped off precipitously with the departure of Russell. Significant bond debt combined with a decreased use of the city owned off street parking garages will mean that city’s general fund will most likely need to make up the difference beginning in 2014. It’ll be more than a decade later before revenues surpass expenditures and the fund begins to climb out of debt.
The question now for city staff and council is how do we increase revenues, decreases expenses, and/or pay for the parking fund from other sources. Is it simply better branding of our existing garages? Is it something else?
Link to The News Tribune
Filed under: Parking
5 comments
J jamie November 15, 2011
Let’s see…what shall I do with all of my eggs here? Hmm, maybe I’ll put them all in this basket!
Coulda woulda shoulda, but Russell shoulda built their own damn garage if they needed parking so badly.
Now, we’ve got all of this off street parking… Perhaps we should give it at a ridiculously cut rate to businesses downtown (retail and offices). Maybe it’s not going to make back our investment, but it could curb the tide of moves to the surrounding suburbs.
R RR Anderson November 15, 2011
viking funeral the extra parking garage with an effigy of Eric Anderson on top. You fools!
E Erik B. November 15, 2011
The price of parking in A street/Russell garage should be lowered to increase occupancy.
Private parking lot companies understand supply and demand price but the city still cannot quite wrap their mind around it.
The Parking Enterprise fund is complicated has so many things draining out of it.
The city should not raise curb parking rates based on their revenue needs downtown however. That would be disastrous. The rate for curb (and garage) parking needs to be based solely on demand.
C Chris November 15, 2011
Establish a permanent moratorium on constructing new city-owned garages. Call it “Anderson’s Rule.”
M Morty November 15, 2011
I just paid $139. for my monthly pass for North Plaza garage. The place is empty yet the City only offers slight discounts for group rates. Forget Russell, many smaller business you never hear of (like the 5 person engineering firm in my building) are not willing or able to pay for parking on top of rent and are seeking out suburban space where parking is included. The City needs to wise up and discount rates for employers of all sizes and validate parking for shoppers and other downtown visitors.