Contributor Opinion By Joe Jordan: County Using Tax Dollars To Subsidize Free Parking
Jul 17, 2009 7:00 - 17 Comments
>This week’s Rockville Gazette carries an editorial piece written by County Councilman George Leventhal. In it he makes a case for why the County should stop reimbursing the City of Rockville in order to provide free library parking. He makes a compelling argument and he was one of two votes in 2006 against providing this money when it first went before the County Council. Two years later, Mr. Leventhal lost an attempt to repeal the policy by a narrow 5 to 4 vote. Given the current economic climate, it is possible the City could lose this funding in FY2010.
As I read his column, I realized something I hadn’t thought of before and no one has mentioned. As Rockville residents, we are strapped with a double whammy . . . our City tax dollars subsidize the Parking Fund to the tune of almost $1 million a year, plus we have to pay to use the garages every time we park there. Because people don’t pay after 7 PM or on weekends, our tax dollars subsidize everyone who uses the garages at those times. But what struck me today was that it doesn’t end there. The County is using our tax dollars to subsidize free library parking. This is crazy!
On Monday, July 20th, the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy & Environment (T&E) Committee is meeting, and this appropriation is on the agenda as item “Rockville Parking District NDA – $147,430 for reimbursement for lost revenue from library patron parking”. It is scheduled for 9:30 AM and will be carried on County Cable Montgomery. The County Council meets the following day for Regular Session. The agenda for that meeting is yet to be posted, so it isn’t known at this time if the topic will be carried forward. You can find the schedule at this site. I encourage people to pay attention to this issue and attend or watch the sessions if you can. I would be very surprised if Town Center parking isn’t a key issue in this year’s election . . . it should be.
Joe Jordan
Newmark Commons
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There have been arguments that parking at other library branches is free. For those of us with cars, it’s not a great hardship to drive to, say, the Twinbrook branch and park for free. It *might* be argued that without free parking for the library, those patrons would be more likely to go elsewhere and the City wouldn’t be getting the parking revenue anyway.I’m not sure I can agree that our tax dollars are “subsidizing” the free parking on evenings and weekends; those are the times lots of people park downtown, eat downtown, shop downtown – in short, they’re spending money and generating tax revenue, and they’re more likely to come when the parking is free and they don’t have to try to work the machines while simultaneously keeping their small kids from running into traffic in the garages. (BTDT
) Making parking “free” during a certain time period isn’t the same as “subsidizing” it.I’d personally like to see the City offer the free parking to library patrons, full stop. I don’t see the need for reimbursement from the County, I guess. Given the proximity of the garages to Metro, especially the one with an entrance on 355 by the CVS, it doesn’t seem (to me, anyway) unreasonable to assume that a more aggressive campaign to sell daily Metro parking wouldn’t go unrewarded, especially given the cost of parking in Metro lots any more.I’m interested in this dialogue – haven’t made up my mind one way or the other, but following along. 
Hey – I love free parking. And frankly, I don’t mind paying through taxes. By the way, we should also pay more taxes to better fund our libraries.Yeah yeah, I’m a tax and spender…
Joe,What info do you have that shows that Rockville taxpayers would be better off if the County stops paying for Library parking? We would be better off if the same library patrons continued to come to the Library with the same frequency. Because they would use their cash instead of County taxes, which we pay a small share, we would be better off. But if they come less often, Rockville’s taxpayers would have to make up the whole difference, because the bonds have to be paid by Rockville. Unless we have some solid info about the effect of ending the County subsidy on patrons’ behavior, I don’t see how we can advocate this as a saving to Rockville’s taxpayers.
Reading the referenced article again, this time the part about “ensuring that only library patrons are using the free library parking” [paraphrased] stood out to me. Has anyone NOT using the library done this, even had the time or bothered with the effort? It’s a pain in the patootie, even for those actually USING the library, if one is doing it with kids who don’t WANNA wait at yet another machine. It’s out of the way and takes a while and isn’t convenient. Those not local to Rockville aren’t likely to know its location anyway, since there’s no easy way to use the machine in the garage to circumvent the second stop at the second machine. It seems to me, anyway, as though that is already pretty much happening. Since the automated parking leaves no way to simply validate a parking stub, the current system seems a reasonable alternative.
I never said Rockville taxpayers would be better off if the County stops reimbursing the City for free library parking. What I said was, under the current system Rockville residents are slammed with the trifecta of tax and fees. Our city tax dollars cover the annual shortfall on debt payments, we pay to park there and our county tax dollars pay for library users.We don’t have a say in what the county does..and given the tough economic environment, the cutbacks the county has done and the visibility the $1.7 million in city pay raises has gotten, why wouldn’t the county want to vote down the reimbursement? Jonathan, how can you say you love free parking and it’s okay to pay for it with your taxes? Huh? How is that free parking?Deb, there are people that take advantage of the system, and to think that was not going to happen would have been naive. I personally have seen Gold Gym users go from the garage to the library and turn around and head to the Gym.The city is in a pickle with these garages. They/we will be paying the debt for the next 28 years or so…about $60 million or so, I believe. Every dollar that is not collected in fees will come from Rockville resident taxes. I don’t care for the word subsidize in this case….what we are doing is helping pay the city’s debt obligation because they haven’t done what they said they would…charge for parking from 7 AM to 10 PM 6 days a week.
Thanks for the clarification, Joe. If you are suggesting that the City expand the hours it charges for parking, then I agree. But that won’t come close to closing the deficit completely. I’ve heard you complain about the cost of the garages, but I’ve never understood what you would propose to eliminate the gap. I know that some folks disagreed with the decision to build the garages, but the decision to build them was made. There’s no sense lamenting the decision. We need to look forward and take advantage of opportunities to reduce the cost to taxpayers. Personally, I think paying the extra taxes in order to get Town Center is a bargain. It’s an incredible improvement. Others have different views, and that’s fine. If we want to reduce the cost of City government to taxpayers, let’s look at subsidies that contribute nothing to taxpayers, such as the subsidy for Redgate Golf Course. That’s $500,000 wasted each year and growing.
Art, you are so predictable….
The following item is now on the agenda for Tuesday’s County Council meeting:10:15 ACTION – Special appropriation to the County Government’s FY10 Operating Budget, Rockville Parking District Non-Departmental Account – $147,430 for reimbursement forlost revenue from library patron parking (Source: General Fund) (T&E Committee recommendation will be available 7/20/09.
The parking issue would be mute if we remember that town center is within walking distance for most of Rockville. For those who live further out, the county already subsidizes the bus lines, and the city lobbied for a stop in town center on the “Round-Rockville” route 45. The bikeways also lead right through town, and bike racks are placed at both library entrances. These possibilities may work for everyone except disabled persons who don’t live near a bus stop. Per city ordinance, cars with valid placards park at any metered space for free, and their website lists where reserved parking is available. Plus, there are two spaces on Maryland Ave reserved for 5-minute book drop off. Perhaps paying for parking will get those who can exercise other options out of their cars, and alleviate congestion from our streets.
@Herb: Good point about the bikes and buses. I’d love to bike with both my kids but one is too small to bike so far and petrified to ride in a seat on my bike, so I’d need to leave at least one child at home to bike there (less than 10 minutes alone!)From the closest Ride-On stop to my home it’s a 2-bus 30-minute trip by bus for that mile+. If I lived out in, say, Fallsgrove, or up in King Farm, I suspect it would be significantly longer by bus, but definitely not practical by bike with a small child. Quicker to drive AND cheaper to pay for parking. LOL@JJ: I’ve often wondered why they don’t put the library parking machine inside the library to make it more convenient for library users and more out-of-the-way for non-library users. Heck, I’ve been known to grab a street space and happily give the meter a couple quarters because it’s closer than the garage and a lot faster than the machine.
(But that’s just me. LOL)
I saw the committee meeting today where Mayor Hoffmann said the city will move the parking kiosk inside the library. Does anyone really believe this will substantially cut down the number of people trying to beat the system? This idea was suggested before and it was made clear that library employees are not parking enforcement officials. They have a job to do and shouldn’t be distracted by having to monitor who is staying and who is leaving. In addition, what are they going to do…confront someone who is walking out….call the police….issue a ticket? I sure wouldn’t want to be put in that position. I am not surprised that 20% of people getting free parking are not using the library. I am also unhappy I am paying for this with my taxes. To think by moving the kiosk inside is going to help is naive and disingenuous. All someone has to do is walk around the room once and exit a door on another side of the library. The only solution to this abuse is to do what is not popular, but is right, and charge for parking.
Goodness, I’m not suggesting that library employees become the Parking Police, or even glance twice at the kiosk and who uses it, nor that moving the kiosk will completely eliminate the problem, but making it less visible and harder to find without entering the library can’t hurt.It would be easy enough for Parking Enforcement to walk thru the library every so often if they were so inclined, and if they weren’t, no change from the status quo.I’m not suggesting that moving the kiosk will magically make it “all better,” but perhaps I have more faith in the power of inconvenience than you?
Hi Deb,I know this is going off on a tangent; this isn’t what the thread was originally about. But for East Rockvillians, route 45 goes right down Baltimore Rd, stops at the metro, and again on Gibbs Str. See http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/DOT/transit/pdffiles/maps/Route_045_Map.pdf. The bike seat will be great when she’s a bit older, so I’m with you on the parking for now. For the unencumbered, King Farm has the 55 that goes right down the pike, and stops on Beall at the north library entrance, or even the metrobus Q2 or the Metro redline itself, as many commuters already have passes. Figure 15 minutes by bus or 4 minutes by train. Fallsgrove has the 56 which takes 18 minutes to stop at the Executive Office bldg a block south of town center. I’m not trying to be argumentative, just informative. I use WMATA.com to calculate times, and advocate for mass transit use when I can.
Still a bit OT: @Herb, you are so the man when it comes to getting around town here.
Thanks for the link and info. I had a whole different mental picture of that route, and I would imagine I’m not the only one. Perhaps some publicity wouldn’t be a bad idea; while it’s possible I’m not the only Rockvillian not intimately familiar with the routes (or who remembers to look them up when online LOL), it doesn’t seem THAT unlikely, and I’d love to see the Round Rockville route continue.In the long run, I really don’t object to paying to park downtown, as long as the rates don’t do what Metro’s Park’n'Ride rates have done, which is jump exponentially since we moved here, more than double the cost for a day’s parking in the ast few years, AND the time window for charging that fee has increased. We already don’t take Metro as much as we used to, since it’s not always practical to walk there in extreme weather conditions with small kids or bike during times that might go into rush hour. I’d hate to see that happen with Rockville’s Town Center – we’re just getting to really love it and take more advantage of it!
I expect to pay something when I choose to drive and park there in prime time business hours. Keeping it free evenings is a good way to grow business for now. Worth the investment.County libraries out in the boonies have their own little parking lot. Which, surprise, is subsidized in that the county pays for it. Its probably a lot cheaper for the county to just rent space in the city’s garage. Where is the God-given right to drive my own automobile anywhere and have the parking be free?! As cities grow, it is impractical to have “free” places everywhere for people to put their cars.Folks, many small shrinking old manufacturing towns across the midwest have no problem like this and plenty of parking. But nobody who wants to move there. These are good problems to have.
I like Deb’s idea of putting the library parking machine inside the library to make it more convenient for library users and more out-of-the-way for non-library users. If George Leventhal’s idea goes through, Rockville will be the only library in the County in which its patrons have to pay for parking. Does this encourage people, like parents with children, to use the library to help their children to improve their reading and their love of reading, especially during these tough economic times when purchasing books are very expensive? No way! I think George Leventhal is a wonderful Councilmember. He has been very responsive to me about issues, but I disagree with him on this idea of his.However, I think the County is out of ways to increase revenue. It’s maxed out on income tax and property tax. Increasing sales tax is regressive and penalizes people with low incomes, and I don’t know if it can be increased any more or not. Unfortunately, with the bad economy, I think the County is looking everywhere for ways to cut services, as a way to decrease its budget deficit — as an example, the recent attempt to charge fees for ambulance calls.
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