The Hoboken City Council will attempt to fill a multi-million-dollar deficit this year through new parking legislation that increases the fees associated with parking a car in the city.
The council adopted three ordinances by a 5-4 margin on Feb. 5, raising the cost of residential parking permits, violations, and towing.
Council members Michael DeFusco, Ruben Ramos, Michael Russo, and Vanessa Falco voted against each of the ordinances.
They also introduced new ordinances, which would impact the cost of parking.
Parking increases
The first ordinance increases the penalties associated with various parking violations by at least $5.
The violations include permit parking, which would increase from a $68 ticket to $73; an overtime meter which would increase from $30 to $35; no parking in a loading zone which would increase from $45 to $55; and no parking in a school zone which would increase from $30 to $40.
The second ordinance increases the price of a residential parking permit from $15 to $52 a year.
Currently, residents with only one car pay $15 a year for a residential parking permit. For a second car at the same address, a parking permit costs $30 per year. A permit for a third car at the same address costs $90 a year.
Now a permit for one car will be $52 a year; $104 for a second car; and $208 for a third car.
The third ordinance increases the tow-release processing fee the city’s contracted towing companies will have to pay the city from $25 to $30.
The current parking violation tickets are lower than many municipalities, including Jersey City and New York City, according to the city’s Director of Parking and Transportation Ryan Sharp who noted many of the fees associated with parking have not been changed in at least 10 years.
Sharp said there were many reasons for the increases, including management and administration costs.
“The thing is, you can’t expect to try to pay for technology that’s going to help with enforcement, for the management costs, everything that goes into managing parking enforcement and not raise the rates for 10 or 15 years,” Sharp said, noting that the Hoboken Parking Utility typically has a surplus of $3 to $4 million a year which is put into the city’s general fund.
The council also introduced new ordinances that will impact how much it costs to park in the city.
On ordinance establishes a meter rate for loading zones in the city’s commercial districts at $0.50 per 15 minutes. Another ordinance proposes to raise the fees at certain meters within business districts from $0.25 per 15 minutes to $$0.50 per 15 minutes.
Both introductory ordinances will need to be adopted at a future second reading.
How big is the deficit?
Last month, the administration revealed at a January council meeting that the city was facing a multi-million-dollar budget deficit, estimated at $7.5 million, which could mean that up to 80 city employees could lose their jobs.
Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher who sits on the council’s finance subcommittee said new estimates of the budget deficit potentially reach as much as $14 million.
“What I’ve come to appreciate over time is that the city does very specifically rely on parking revenue to balance its annual budget,” Fisher said. “And what we’re seeing this year is, it’s not a $7 million deficit, it’s potentially closer to $14 million, it’s a giant number.”
Following the meeting, city spokesperson Vijay Chaudhuri refuted Fisher’s claim, stating “I can confirm that the budget deficit is not $14 million and that it is approximately $7.5 million.”
Officials agree that the budget deficit needs to be closed.
Fisher said the council can’t make decisions “in isolation,” noting that one way the city will increase revenues to help close the budget gap is through these increased parking costs.
She said the council will also have to consider a combination of increasing taxes, layoffs, and additional untapped sources of revenue as well as where to cut costs in order to have a balanced budget this year.
According to Business Administrator Stephen Marks, the projected deficit is due to several factors, including payment increases to the state pension system, increases in employee health benefit costs, and a projected increase in new municipal labor union contracts.
He said, at the same time, the city is receiving less revenue from the parking utility, from the municipal court in fines and fees, and fewer fees paid for building permits.
‘War on cars’
Resident Alex Garcia said he was upset by the council’s decision to increase the cost of parking, noting that he was alright with the idea of an increased residential parking permit but thought $52 was too much, especially when he considers the potential new meter rate hikes.
Resident Andrew Impastato who owns, ParkingDude, called the new fees a “war on cars.”
“This is a war on cars,” he said. “I’m not hearing about any construction permits going up, electrical permits going up, plumbing permits going up, the permits to run a private pool.”
He said if the city was going to raise the cost of parking, then it needed to also announce how those new rates would be invested into fixing the citywide parking problem.
Hudson County Chamber of Commerce President Maria Nieves supports increased meter fees because she believes it will lead to more open parking spaces, which in turn will support local commerce because more people will be able to park and shop.
She said the meter increases were less expensive than a grande coffee at Starbucks.
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