Jackson may privatize parking meters

The city of Jackson will advertise next month for proposals to privatize the city's parking meter operation.

The Jackson City Council voted Thursday to encourage Mayor Tony Yarber's administration to request proposals.

City Deputy Chief Administrator Marshand Crisler said the administration supports the move.

"They are antiquated," Crisler said of city parking meters. "Other cities are gaining revenue from their parking meters. We have requested proposals and as soon as we get these proposals in we will share the information with you."

Councilman De'Keither Stamps said he favors an upgrade but is opposed to privatization because it could lessen the amount of revenue the city could collect.

However, Councilman Ashby Foote said he was in favor of privatization.

"Evidence suggests otherwise," Foote said of the city losing money. "We are losing $100,000 or more (annually) running our own parking system."

Councilman Tyrone Hendrix, who requested the resolution, said the city needs more revenue.

The Clarion-Ledger has reported at least 1 in 10 parking meters are inoperable in Jackson, and annual revenue from meter change has plummeted by about $312,000 in 15 years.

Last fiscal year, Jackson received $154,230 in revenue from about 1,200 parking meters. To compare, Oxford earned $470,902 in revenue from just 286 parking meters last year.

Many of the city's parking meters aren't working. Possible changes include new meters that would allow debit card use.

JPD traffic enforcement officers write parking tickets but the city's Public Works Department is responsible for daily management and maintenance.

In Jackson, parking meters, in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, cost users 50 cents an hour.

Downtown business owners have expressed concern about the lack of downtown parking for customers. Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen recently told some council members that the city probably spends more on meter maids than it recoups in revenue from parking meters.

He said the city should either do away with parking meters downtown, like Nashville, or should have kiosks where people can use debit or credit cards to obtain slips (receipts) they can place in their vehicle windows.

Contact Jimmie E. Gates at (601) 961-7212 or jgates@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.