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Mount Vernon staff propose Passport mobile-pay addendum for parking; council leaves item agenda-pending
Summary
City parking officials presented an addendum to the Passport Labs contract to add a mobile-pay feature, saying there are no upfront costs and the city could save on merchant processing fees; council left the item as agenda-pending for further review.
Mount Vernon parking officials on Oct. 6 presented a request to add a mobile-pay feature to the city’s existing Passport Labs parking contract and said the change could reduce merchant processing costs and require no upfront city outlay.
The presentation, led by Pat Albano, director of parking ticket collections, included Renice Poteet from the parking bureau and Armine Riabeck, a Passport representative. Riabeck told the council Passport has supported Mount Vernon’s enforcement and permitting since 2019 and that the company supplies signage, decals and marketing materials at no upfront cost.
Riabeck said in some cases the city could save “up to 50% on the merchant processing costs” compared with the current provider, Pango. She also said Passport’s rollout would typically take a conservative six to eight weeks and that the company remits payments to the city on a monthly basis. Regarding signage and decals, Passport said it supplies one sign per five on‑street spaces and one sign per ten off‑street spaces, and can provide QR codes and a text‑to‑park option so users without the app can start a session.
Council members asked about transition timing, signage visibility, replacement of scratched codes and how Passport handles chargebacks. Riabeck said cities have seven business days to respond to chargeback disputes and that, when fraud is confirmed, Passport can lock user accounts to prevent additional sessions. Albano said the parking team plans to phase in Passport while phasing out Pango to avoid downtime and revenue loss.
The council did not vote on the contract addendum. At the end of the discussion, the chair said the item would remain "agenda pending" while legal staff and council members complete a contract review.
The council raised no final objections on the merits of the proposal during the work session; council staff said they would confirm contract details and bring the item back to the agenda if ready.
