Committee hears plan to shift mobile payment transaction fees to users; staff also previews license‑plate readers and Courthouse Plaza lease change

City parking staff presented three related operational items: a proposed ParkMobile contract that moves transaction costs onto users, planned deployment of license‑plate recognition (LPR) technology for permit enforcement, and a recommendation to terminate the city’s Courthouse Plaza garage subsidy arrangement.

The proposed ParkMobile contract would change the current convenience fee structure so that the vendor becomes the merchant of record and customers pay a per‑transaction convenience fee (the new fee would be 35¢ or 15% up to $2.50 per transaction, whichever is greater). Under the present contract the city pays transaction fees and retains net parking revenues; the new arrangement would send payments first to ParkMobile and remit parking revenue to the city without city‑paid transaction costs. Staff said roughly 72 percent of historical transactions would pay only an additional 5¢ under the new pricing example and that the change would eliminate the city’s roughly 15 percent revenue loss to credit card fees.

Several committee members raised concerns about downtown economic fragility and asked staff to consider coordinated promotions and mitigation before finalizing the change. Staff asked to work with councilors on incentives and communications and said they would return with a coordinated approach before signing a final contract.

On technology, staff presented planned license‑plate recognition for residential permit areas and garages. Director’s office staff said they had met with the union about potential staffing impacts and developed a mayoral privacy policy for LPR data; they emphasized the system would be used only for parking compliance (not linked to criminal databases) and that agents would still be needed for downtown enforcement where walking enforcement is more efficient.

Finally, staff described the Courthouse Plaza third‑floor sublease arrangement that has required a roughly $5,000 monthly subsidy; with Main Street construction largely complete, staff proposed terminating the sublease (30‑day notice) and using the subsidy funds for different promotions or operations. Staff said they would notify permit holders and other affected users and coordinate alternatives such as Marketplace Garage access and communications to reduce disruption.