Taos council hears complaints about paid downtown parking rollout, asks staff for fixes and merchant input

Taos Town Council on Sept. 10 heard an extended briefing on the town's paid downtown parking system and directed staff to continue troubleshooting signage, enforcement and rates while engaging merchants and residents.

The briefing came from Interim Assistant Town Manager Mark Flores and Community Relations Director John Rodriguez, who gave council members an itemized update on how the new system has performed since it launched June 6. Rodriguez said the current rate structure is "$2 for the first hour, a dollar every hour after that, about $10 maximum they pay, the hours over 9 to 5, Monday to Saturday." He told council staff would meet merchants the next day to gather feedback.

Why it matters: Council members said parking has been one of the most frequent public complaints this summer and stressed the need to balance turnover, local access and revenue that is intended to support downtown infrastructure. Flores said town management has formed a parking planning implementation committee to coordinate fixes and policy choices; the group already held a kickoff meeting.

Most important facts: Staff reported gross parking revenue of roughly $70,000 to $73,000 since the system began in June. Business permits were described as a $20 one-time application fee and a $15 monthly permit; the permit, as implemented, can record up to three license plates per permit. Rodriguez said citation fines are $25 if paid within 30 days and double to $50 after 30 days. Council and staff repeatedly highlighted problems with signage, kiosk visibility and cellular connectivity that have made paying confusing for some users.

Council members pressed for both short- and long-term responses. Councilwoman Oswald said she wanted a comprehensive plan before further rollouts and implementation changes: "I would love to see a comprehensive plan," she said. Several council members said they support the idea of occasional free community days for events and suggested giving the town manager authority to waive parking charges on specified dates to avoid having to call special meetings.

Operational and equity issues discussed included whether locals should receive discounted or free parking, whether certain lots should be designated for locals, and how to handle short visits such as grabbing coffee. Police and parking staff said they have emphasized warnings rather than citations during the initial rollout; the municipal court report included earlier in the meeting showed 12 parking tickets issued in August, four paid and eight pending. Staff told council the police department has issued only a small number of citations so far and has relied mainly on warnings while the system is being learned.

Staff cautioned that some desired data are not available. Rodriguez said vendor privacy rules prevent the town from getting credit-card ZIP code data, and that existing data do not clearly split local versus visitor parking. He said staff will present a fuller financial analysis at a future meeting showing lease rates, vendor fees and net revenue after the summer season.

Planned next steps: Flores and Rodriguez said the town will pursue several near-term fixes — improved kiosk signage (including clearer “press to start” direction), additional wayfinding signs at district entry points, and better in-system messaging so users understand when payment is required (for example, explaining that some lots are not paid on Sundays). Staff proposed testing different rate windows (for example, $1 first hour / $2 subsequent hours) but warned council that changing hours or rates could reduce revenue; staff estimated a hypothetical change in morning hours could reduce revenue by roughly $10,000 and that turning off a large lot such as the pasture lot could reduce system revenue by about $5,000–$5,400.

Committee and outreach: Flores said the parking planning implementation committee includes staff from police, finance, facilities, IT and public works and will meet frequently to refine recommendations. Rodriguez said staff will meet twice with merchants (at the El Valle Senior Room at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. the next day) to solicit input on permit administration, community free days, and possible targeted discounts or promotional days to drive weekday activity. Council members encouraged working closely with Main Street Taos and the merchant advisory group on how incremental revenue will be spent in the Historic District fund (staff said the parking revenue is intended to go into a separate historic-district fund, not the general fund).

What staff asked council to decide later: whether to change the hourly price structure, which lots to designate as free or discounted (staff suggested Kit Carson and the pasture lot as candidates), whether to authorize the manager to approve free community days, and how to design resident or merchant permit programs. Staff said they will return with a detailed financial analysis and specific policy recommendations.

The meeting record shows no formal council vote to change parking rules on Sept. 10; council members asked for more data and merchant outreach and endorsed continuing the implementation committee's work. The council also heard a broader monthly operations report after the parking discussion and briefly went into an executive session about threatened litigation (no action was taken).

Ending: Staff said they would provide a fuller briefing at an upcoming meeting with revenue breakdowns, enforcement statistics and recommended signage and rate changes. Council members asked that staff include merchant representatives and Main Street Taos in those planning sessions so the revenue can be discussed alongside concrete downtown improvements such as lighting, resurfacing and public amenities.