Council hears explanation for collapse of parking fund; enforcement to move in‑house as vendor phases out
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Summary
City staff told council the parking enterprise fund has run in the red for several years, prompting dissolution into the general fund; parking enforcement will transition from an outside vendor to police department staff over coming months.
City finance and operations staff told the City Council that the long-running parking enterprise fund has operated at a deficit for several consecutive years and is being dissolved into the general fund, with most parking functions redistributed to Police and Public Works.
Staff said the decision results from an unsustainable pattern of negative fund balances and the practical reality that the department could no longer sustain separate fund accounting for parking operations. The budget presentation shows a $17.3 million reduction in the former parking fund as line items and responsibilities move into the general fund and departmental operating accounts.
The transition also affects enforcement: the current third‑party vendor (SP Plus) is being phased out as the police department hires permanent staff to take over enforcement. Staff told the council the vendor had been unable to meet projected results and the city had been losing roughly $1 million annually on the contract; the vendor wrote roughly 115,000–120,000 citations last year, according to staff estimates.
Council members asked whether the change reversed council decisions to outsource parking services and whether the move would affect contracts, vendor obligations and how revenue and costs shift between funds. Staff said the fund collapse is separate from the earlier outsourcing decision and that the operational shift should reduce contract costs once in‑house staffing is fully onboarded. Staff also said the shift is expected to allow better local control and could reduce some public complaints tied to private enforcement, but several council members pressed for clarity on how and when the vendor transition would occur and how financial impacts will be tracked.
Staff said PSO and other parking-related positions transferred to the Police Department total about 10.5 full-time equivalents and that some enforcement functions will be assumed internally once background clearances and hiring are complete. Council asked for follow-up details on the contract termination timeline, the phased transition of the vendor, and any financial reconciliation to show the true net effect on the general fund.
