Syracuse City finance committee reviews Paylock contract, weighing fee and enforcement changes

Syracuse City finance officials reviewed options to extend the city’s contract with Paylock and discussed new enforcement and fee arrangements intended to reduce the city’s operating costs while maintaining parking collections.

The meeting, held by the Syracuse City Finance Committee, centered on whether to renew Paylock’s contract and on proposed contract amendments that could change the boot fee, shift some payment processing costs to vehicle owners, add fees for late or damaged boots, and expand booting to tickets from automated enforcement such as school-zone and red-light cameras.

“The purpose of this meeting is to evaluate current and prospective parking enforcement vendors and determine the most cost effective and efficient path forward,” Mike Cannizzaro, Commissioner of Finance, said in opening remarks.

Deputy Commissioner of Finance Vicki Voss outlined the contract history and recent performance. Paylock has provided booting and related services to Syracuse since 2008 and developed an automated process that consolidated DMV records by registered owner, which staff said increased boot revenue and reduced staff time spent merging accounts. Voss noted that Paylock-collected revenue was $733,000 in 2022, dipped in 2023, and — based on the first four months of the current year — staff project it could exceed…