WESTFIELD — During a recent meeting of the Off-Street Parking Commission, its members, reluctantly, voted to double the parking permit fee from $10 per month to $20, and the annual fee from $100 to $200, its first increase since 2009.
“It was really the last thing we wanted to do,” said Community Development Director Peter Miller serves as the city’s liaison to the commission, about the decision.
He said the discussion with the commissioners, Joseph Golio, Ken Gustafson, and Ted Dobek, about raising the fee began when it was putting together its annual budget and realized that fees had been accumulating the commission’s account because the nine municipal parking lots had been generating income, but not maintaining them on a regular basis until this past year.
“Because we hadn’t been spending on maintenance on a regular basis, we built up a balance [in the account],” Miller said.
However, starting last July, the commission hired a maintenance contractor to maintain the lots year-round and spent down “the war chest” it had.
During the commission’s meeting where it voted for the increase, Miller said maintaining the parking lots costs $48,000 a year and trash removal another $5,200.
And that over the last three years, the fees averaged $26,000 annually, with new revenue of about $4,000 for food truck fees.
To continue the maintenance contract, Miller suggested doubling the monthly and annual fee, which the commission agreed to unanimously.
With the increase, the parking fees will generate about $48,000 annually with an expectation of food truck revenues of $6,000, he said.
Those would cover the maintenance costs, which includes keeping the islands and flower beds mulched.
He said Tuesday that when preparing for the commission meeting, he had checked on other cities comparable in size to Westfield for its daily or annual parking permit fees.
Municipal parking permits in Pittsfield, Greenfield, Northampton, Taunton, and other cities ranged from $30 per month to $70 per month.
“We were the lowest in the state,” Miller said Tuesday, adding that with the increase the city will now have second-lowest parking fees in the state.
He explained the DPW helping with the maintenance wasn’t an option, and Mayor Michael McCabe said not maintaining the lots was not an option.
“He told [the commission] to figure it out,” Miller said.
He also said maintaining municipal parking lots is not a “core function” of city government and most cities charge users to maintain them instead of relying on the city’s general fund.
The fee increase will go into effect on July 1. The city will honor permits purchased before June 30 or earlier through their expiration.
