Budget Analyst, MTA and Controller Discuss Low Meter Collections; Controller Offers Limited Audit of White Zones and Valet Permits

The committee opened a multi-part review of parking-meter revenue and white-zone/valet parking. The Budget Analyst reported that weighted average paid-occupied meter hours suggested the city was collecting roughly 22.3% of maximum potential revenue based on available data and that Zone 1 (downtown core) showed a particularly low figure—about 0.87 paid hours per day under a 13‑hour pricing period (Ken Bruce / Budget Analyst Office). The analysis identified a growing gap between what the parking-management system reports and actual deposits; budget staff and MTA confirmed a reconciliation difference on the order of roughly $600,000 in the presented year.

MTA and Municipal Transportation Agency representatives (Judson True) identified multiple contributing factors: nonoperational or out-of-service meters, use of disabled placards (which state law permits for free meter parking), multiple "color code" curb uses (yellow/white zones and tow-away restrictions), motorcycle parking, and uneven enforcement; MTA is piloting meter technology and expects to increase enforcement capacity with additional parking-control officers. The Controller—s Office (Monique Zamuda) offered to perform a limited-scope audit to sample occupancy, reconcile deposits with system records, and review internal controls for the coin-collection and deposit process.

The committee asked staff to pursue a coordinated review of broken meters, enforcement staffing and parking management system mapping, to provide a breakdown of the currently labeled 1,989 white zones (most in a miscellaneous category), and to examine the financial impact of white zones used by for-profit valet operations. Supervisors flagged the public-asset value of on-street space and urged pursuit of cost-recovery where white zones replace meter revenue. The committee kept the items live for further work and follow-up audit planning.