If you thought Santa Rosa's downtown merchants had it bad already, a PD article reports that effective in July, downtown parking meters (all 1,500 of them!!) will be enforced for two additional hours Monday through Saturday, until 8 pm instead of 6 pm. You see, the city has a projected $5 million budget deficit, and the enforcement time extension is estimated to "raise $100,000 in revenue that will be used to fund the parking district’s operation and maintenance," and an additional $150,000 in parking tickets.

Is Santa Rosa the City Designed for Living, or for Leaving? This is just over the top, and I'm not even one of the aforementioned downtown merchants (though I work downtown). Put simply, this is the City Council's latest salvo in an ongoing war against the private automobile, and it would appear that it's only too happy to make it even more difficult for downtown businesses (except the Plaza and the Roxy Theater) to survive. I feel especially bad for the downtown public library which has never had its own parking area for patrons to use, and this parking meter decision will further cement its reputation as a haven for the homeless and the mentally ill.

Santa Rosa's residents should absolutely boycott the downtown area until such time as it takes for its businesses to revolt against the City Council and force it to reverse this ridiculous decision. Were it not for my job, I would never go downtown. Better to shop in Rohnert Park instead. Let RP rake in the sales tax revenues that SR deserves to lose. $150,000 in parking tickets! How many ticket recipients will never go to downtown Santa Rosa again?

So if I read the OP right the expectation is that the two additional hours of enforcement will raise $150K.

Of that, 66% is going to straight back into parking enforcement operations. That would leave $50K to go toward the $5M general fund shortfall. Talk about applying a band aid to an open artery.....

Compound that with the number of downtown shoppers and diners the upscaled enforcement will tick off, and the expectation that a significant percentage of fines will go uncollected in any near term and this latest scheme can be seen for what it is.

A failure before it even starts. What government does best, or so it would seem.

Press Democrat original article

My bad--I should have provided the entire source originally. You read me *exactly* right, and your analysis as usual is spot-on. --Formerly "Franc" in the old forums

the SR parking enforcement officers (i still like to call them "metermaids." i did that once and it really pissed the guy off) have always been ruthless in their quest to shake down every dime possible. i used to work downtown and was usually at city hall paying off a $25 ticket about every 10-14 days. if i was even 60 seconds late running out to feed the meter they were already on it! it convinced me to leave and not go back.

Hey hey everyone! This just in: The City of Santa Rosa has backed away (for the time being, at least) from its plan to enforce its parking meters for two additional hours! It would have begun enforcing them until 8 pm Monday through Saturday beginning July 1.

Our coalition forces here in these new forums drove back the Parking Meter Gestapo, and credit is due the PD for its 5/11 editorial supporting Santa Rosa's reversal. It was pretty much a no-brainer to do this, and the next time I'll agree with a PD editorial will probably take place in 2017, so I would be remiss not to express my agreement with them here.

I refer you to people that have given their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, as Savior and Lord, and then been set free of homosexuality along with many other things. They are living in FREEDOM and LOVING IT! This is what God has to say about it: Romans

www.myspace.com/healingwatersflow

Check out the link above please.


* The signs of Christ’s Return are found in Matthew 24-25

CHECK OUT THE INCREASING SIGNS IN THE BIBLE:

Earthquakes, Famines, Pestilences, Wars and Rumors of Wars, & Signs in the Seas and Heavens

Here's what I have to say about it... please do not try to force your religious beliefs on me.

Have a nice day.

Ditto

Another extraordinary example of our city's disconnected leadership.

If they want to save $100k per year that's just one un-needed city administrator or department head.

cut the parking enforcement officers to part-time, eliminate the retirement, or better yet outsource like the other BIG emplopyers around the county...look at Agilent (former HP) people getting cut left and right...then come back for less pay as a contractor.

I have fought the City on parking related issues for years. I have won a few battles and I have lost a few battles. One thing remains constant: the City will always come up with excuses to raise meter rates, raise ticket costs or increase enforcement.

The only way to change these policies is to address it at the City Council level. Vote them out of office and tell them loud and clear why you will vote them out.

Regarding the new "smart" meters that the City wants to use, they are a joke. Portland Oregon already has them and they have had nothing but trouble with them. There was an article in the Oregonian newspaper this week that stated that Portland officials are just trying to make it thru the next 5 years until newer technology comes along to replace the smart meters.

Also, I'd like to point out that the City of Santa Rosa spent ten's of thousands of dollars just within the last 5 years or so to refurbish the existing meters. But who cares.....it's only taxpayer money!