Explanation
1. BACKGROUND:
City Code Section 2155.04 grants the Director of the Department of Public Service the authority to set parking rates and rules of operation, such as effective days and hours. Rates and rules were last updated effective June 5, 2010.
In 2009, ordinance 1578-2009 authorized the City to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority and Franklin County for the acquisition, construction, installation, equipping and financing of a full-service convention center hotel. Section 3.3 of the agreement directed the City Auditor to establish a City Parking Meter Contribution Fund, and further directed the Auditor to deposit to that fund incremental parking meter receipts to maintain a balance of $1.4 million in the fund for the City's hotel-related financial requirements. In addition, ordinance 1560-2009 authorized the City Auditor to create a second special revenue fund called the "Parking Meter Program Fund".
The result of the cooperative agreement and ordinances 1578-2009 and 1560-2009 is that, effective January 1, 2010, parking meter revenues are deposited into three separate funds in a specified"waterfall" method. Section 1 of ordinance 1560-2009 stipulates that first and foremost each year the General Fund shall receive an amount equal to the total annual parking meter revenues received from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009. That equates to $3,349,870.15. After that amount is satisfied, parking revenues are to be deposited in the City Parking Meter Contribution Fund until the balance in that fund is $1.4 million. Any revenue received after the $1.4 million balance is established may be deposited in the Parking Meter Program Fund subject to amounts authorized by the Director of Finance and Management after review and approval of the Parking Meter Program Fund five year pro forma and associated budget. Monies in the Parking Meter Program Fund are available to replace the current parking met...
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