Board of Aldermen 10-13-2020 Page 56
Resolution O-20-031 declared duly adopted as amended.
O-20-032
Endorsers: Alderman-at-Large Brandon Laws
Alderman Thomas Lopez
Alderman Jan Schmidt
Alderman Skip Cleaver
Alderwoman-at-Large Shoshanna Kelly
Alderwoman Elizabeth Lu
REDUCING THE FINE FOR OVERNIGHT PARKING VIOLATIONS
MOTION BY ALDERMAN LAWS FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF O-20-032, BY ROLL CALL
ON THE QUESTION
Alderman Laws
If | could briefly speak to it?
President Wilshire
Alderman Laws.
Alderman Laws
Thank you. You’ve all heard the arguments for this. It absolutely will result in the City losing some of the
fine revenue. | spoke with Director Cummings today for awhile and we hashed it out and before the late
fees, the number we came up with was with the $10.00 parking fee the difference is going to be
somewhere in the ballpark of $112,000.00/$1 13,000.00 a year that the city isn’t making in parking fee
revenue. Now that is a substantial amount of money, he promised me that it doesn’t mean that anybody is
going to lose their jobs. Because of the way it’s structured right now, he basically is just giving people extra
hours. | am paraphrasing him and he can correct me if he finds anything | say to be misleading or wrong.
But he basically gives people hours to go out and do this so there’s not set schedule, and there’s no set
people doing it. It’s not someone’s particular job to go out and do overnight parking tickets. So no one is
going to lose their job because of this.
He says that it is going to be difficult to find other ways to find this $112,000.00 but there are going to be
ways to do it. And | would just like to make the simple argument that this is $112,000.00 that is
disproportionately shouldered by people who live in our lowest income neighborhoods; people who work in
the service industry, who go out to the car after work and get a parking ticket because they got out of work
late. And people who go to the restaurants and bars and future Performing Arts Center that we all pretend
that we care so much about and want to be responsible and not drive home afterwards after having a few
drinks.
So | mean | am OK with taxing people broadly, but | believe in equity in the tax and | don’t think that this is
fair to all of our residents when only a few of them are the ones that have to shoulder this burden. So that’s
where | am at. Thank you, Madam President.
President Wilshire
You're welcome. Discussion? Alderman O’Brien?
