By: Sarah Flagg and Carrie Frillman
Local aldermen are questioning some parts of a deal that would amend the city’s despised parking meter contract.
The 2008 deal that privatized Chicago parking with Chicago Parking Meters LLC gave the city $1.2 billion for a 75-year contract. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is seeking to amend the contract to make it, “a little less bad for the next seven decades,”the Huffington Post reports.
CPM claims the city owes $1 billion in reimbursement for meters taken out of commission. With the amendment’s approval, the city would only pay about $64 million to settle disputes with the company.
But the settlement comes with several other components that could end up costing drivers more and increase revenue for the parking meter company.
Emanuel’s tweaks include free parking on Sundays and extended hours in some areas, mostly in River North and the Loop. That’s among the battles local Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) and others are facing with the proposal.
“Many of the questions ... brought up new issues and problems inherent in the 2008 contract that has hamstrung the city parking meter system for the last few years,” he said, in a written statement. “While some documents have been received, we are still waiting for more detailed data and a detailed financial breakdown of the extended hours.”
Waguespack and nine other alderman who are part of the Paul Douglas Alliance have completed their own analysis of the proposal, he said, and are expecting to compare that to the city’s additional documents once they’re sent over.
The mayor’s administration estimates the free Sunday parking will lose about $8.4 million in CPM revenue a year, but data is hazy how much the extended hours would make the company.
Aside from the hour shifts, the contract also includes a “Pay By Cell” system. According to a Chicago Tribune analysis, CPM could make an extra $76 million from the system and its accompanying 35-cent-per-transaction fee.
Waguespack and his fellow aldermen commended the mayor for trying to change the status quo, but also say the renegotiation may “create additional issues down the road, hurt local businesses and create poor precedents for the future…”
“You’re essentially asking us to place a bet on a deal that benefits the mayor politically,” North Side Alderman Ameya Pawar (47th) toldWBEZ. “But we have to bear the consequences, and so do the consumers.”
Some aldermen were calling for separate votes on each element of the deal. But the mayor’s floor leader, Ward 40 Ald. Patrick O’Connor, said that breaking it apart would kill the proposal in its entirety.
The council’s Finance Committee held a public hearing on Friday and will have a second Tuesday. A final vote is set for June.
Join Patch for more neighborhood news and follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
