Parking director presents vehicle, meter and staffing requests; board asks for account clarifications

The parking director for the Town of Greenwich presented a budget and operations update, asking the board to approve funds for three replacement vehicles and upgrades to multispace kiosks while describing staffing, revenue and enforcement challenges.

The presentation, delivered after the parking team introduced itself, said the office moved from town hall into the Greenwich Police Department and opened its public window on July 1, 2025. The director told the board the department had operated out of boxes during the transition but that the move “really went well.”

Why it matters: The requests would draw from the parking fund and affect how the town maintains lots, enforces turnover on Greenwich Avenue and replaces aging meters that generate most parking revenue.

The director asked for $153,000 to buy three replacement vehicles, saying the department will continue to favor electric models because they have worked well for day-shift parking officers. “They only have to charge it about once a week if they get a full charge on it,” the director said, citing low daily mileage for patrol and meter service vehicles.

Staff also proposed replacing a subset of multispace kiosks this year. The presentation said the budget includes funds to replace 11 of the town’s 35 kiosks (figure shown in the presentation as 215 [thousand]), and that technicians will harvest serviceable parts from older machines to refurbish others.

On staffing, the director described current roles — meter mechanics, park enforcement officers, accounting clerks and temporary help — and said the department expects to hire part-time assistants to support the rollout of new meters and manual tasks.

Revenue and meters: The director provided a breakdown of parking revenue streams. Staff reported single-space coin meters producing about $399,000 and ParkMobile payments totaling about $1.9 million; other items listed included day-parker receipts (~$329,000), parking rentals ($119,000), outdoor dining fees (~$76,000), permit and fee revenue (~$73,000), and card/renewal fees (~$39,000). Several figures in the transcript were unclear and staff agreed to supply a clarified spreadsheet on request.

Enforcement and turnover: Board members pressed staff about turnover on Greenwich Avenue and the impacts of delivery drivers. The director said the town has deployed short-term red meters and 30-minute spaces near retail corners and that those measures appear to help; enforcement relies heavily on bike patrols, which staff said struggle to catch very brief stops. “They go in under two minutes and by the time you get a report of them they’re gone,” the director said.

Accounting question raised: A select member flagged what appears to be a duplicate paving line item for the Havier (south) lot listed both in the parking fund and in DPW capital. Staff acknowledged the discrepancy and agreed to reconcile which account should fund the work and to confirm whether the south lot is primarily employee parking (and therefore not appropriate for the parking fund) while the north lot is public.

Audit and next steps: A board member noted an internal audit of parking services was recently completed or is close to final; staff confirmed the audit took place during the move and that locating records delayed finalization. The board asked staff to follow up with fleet managers on the timing of the three replacement vehicles and to return with a corrected accounting for the paving request. No formal vote was taken on the capital requests during the meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 2:37 p.m.