by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Though seldom more than a $5 slap on the wrist today, parking violations downtown are expected to double or even triple in price before the end of the year.
The City Council still has to approve the proposed increases, but one of its committees has already offered unanimous support.
That support came just after Council auditors informed the Finance Committee Monday that Jacksonville was “significantly behind” municipalities such as Tallahassee, Orlando and Miami with respect to its parking fines and late fees.
Bill sponsor Art Shad said last month the legislation is “long overdue.”
“Our parking fines are far less severe than what they could and really should be,” he said. “We haven’t updated them in nearly a decade and it’s honestly, hard to argue against $5 being ridiculously low.”
Providing the bill passes, those $5 infractions will be raised to $15. Five dollar and $10 late penalties will each be raised by $5.
“But I’d like to stress that I’m not married to any specific numbers,” said Shad. “I’ve been very open with the fact that if someone wants to tweak this proposal, I’m amendable to that.”
But that tweaking has yet to happen. The committee approved the bill with no amendment, and, when asked earlier this month, roughly half of the Council said they had few issues with raising parking fines downtown.
“I do think we should open up that dialogue,” said Suzanne Jenkins. “Yes, parking is a problem downtown and we have to address it. If we don’t we’ll never be able to revive it.”
Others, including Kevin Hyde and Lynette Self, scheduled meetings with Shad to discuss the merits of the bill, though neither Council member suggested any changes be made.
“Generally, I don’t have a problem,” said Hyde. “It’s something that needs to be looked at and I just wanted to meet with (Shad) so that I could better understand what’s being proposed.”
Shad said he’s wants raised parking fines to free up parking meters for downtown visitors.
“Think about it,” he said. “Right now it’s cheaper to park on the street and risk a fine than it is to park monthly somewhere else downtown. Because of that, we have people who work downtown using the meters. That’s not what they’re there for.”
The Council may vote on the increases later this month.