Definition:
Parking meter management involves much more than collecting parking fees from meters. Like any other device, parking meters require maintenance, replacement, and repair, and ancillary services such as posting and maintenance of signage, and analysis of parking trends within the municipality. It has been tried in many municipalities, but in many cases it winds up costing the city more money than it would have without it. In many cases, it is used to create an influx of money for cash strapped city.
Technical Requirements:
Outsourcing parking meter management creates a situation where the government will no longer be in charge of repairs for broken meters, and people who collect meter money will no longer be government employees. It is now outsourced to a company that will handle that for the government. The government will typically create a contract for a certain number of years and hand the responsibilities over to the private firm.
Benefits:
Benefits to outsourcing parking meter management are that if the Parking Meters break, it’s no longer the Taxpayer’s money going to fix it, nor do they pay the salary for Meter Maids or repair personnel to fix the broken meters. Outsourcing parking meters also allows for a cash influx to the local government. Helping in cash strapped cities such as Detroit or Cleveland, improved cash flow enables local governments to pursue their programs for the taxpayers and local businesses. It also allows the government to focus on more important things than parking in the city. In theory, outsourcing parking meter management allows for a company that works solely on this specific topic to do the job more efficiently than the government does. In theory, things will be done in a faster way with less red tape found in almost all government entities.