Bel Air staff on Tuesday laid out a detailed parking-fund analysis that recommends a mix of targeted rate increases and operational changes to reduce a multi-year decline in the fund’s equity.

Lisa (town finance staff) told commissioners the town’s garage and street hourly rates and monthly permit fees are lower than many peer municipalities; most respondents charge above $0.50 per hour and most monthly garage permits exceed $35. “We are in the minority when it comes to enforcement for the garage,” Lisa said, summarizing the comparative data. Staff proposed testing ParkMobile in the Pennsylvania Avenue lot and estimated conservative annual revenue of about $38,000 at 75% utilization.

Why it matters: the parking fund has shown a structural shortfall in recent years. Lisa displayed fiscal-year trends for meters, parking fines and lease fees and said FY25 revenues recovered toward FY22 levels but the fund still carries losses driven in part by depreciation and by expense allocations owed to the general fund. Lisa also committed to separating garage and lot expense lines and to adding Harford County reimbursements to the analysis so commissioners can see a true expense picture.

Key options discussed included increasing main-street meter rates where demand is highest, raising certain permit and lease fees, and increasing parking fines. Commissioners repeatedly emphasized the need to pair revenue measures with expense scrutiny. “You don’t have a parking problem. You have a walking problem,” said an unnamed commissioner, urging demand-based pricing for prime Main Street spaces. Several commissioners and staff also noted mechanical meters are becoming obsolete and parts are unavailable, making ParkMobile or kiosks increasingly likely as replacements.

Staff actions: Lisa agreed to return with four follow-ups—(1) ParkMobile transaction/processing cost details; (2) comparative P&L information for municipalities that run parking as an enterprise fund; (3) the last dates and impacts of changes to lease fees, fines and meter rates; and (4) a spreadsheet that separates garage expenses from lot expenses and explicitly includes county reimbursement amounts. The commission did not make policy changes Tuesday; staff will bring refined numbers and options back for future deliberation.

Next steps: commissioners asked staff to model a limited rate increase on high-demand on-street meters, confirm ParkMobile vendor fees, and provide the separated expense breakout before any vote on rate or fine changes.