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Sunday, June 07, 2009
Law - Still more on: Chicago Mayor Dailey privatizes City parking meters
Updating this ILB entry from June 1, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis today by Fran Spielman, city hall reporter, begins:
Chicago's parking meter mess could be the tipping point that awakens the sleeping giant otherwise known as the City Council.No issue in recent memory -- not even the Hired Truck scandal or Mayor Daley's infamous midnight destruction of Meigs Field -- seems to have resonated as much with voters as the aftermath of the city's 75-year, $1.15 billion lease of its parking meters and the steep schedule of rate hikes that came with turning them over to private hands.
It was bad enough that drivers had to stuff their pockets with quarters to pay the higher meter rates.
But then, when the transition to the private company got bogged down by broken pay-and-display boxes and overstuffed and improperly calibrated meters that overcharged, Daley and aldermen who gave the deal quick approval had a crisis on their hands.
Inspector General David Hoffman piled on by concluding that the city could have gotten nearly $1 billion more if it had held on to the meters and just raised the rates itself.
And instead of approving the meter deal, after just two days of debate, to plug a $150 million budget gap, Hoffman said aldermen should have conducted an independent analysis and considered other alternatives.
Last week, the City Council ran for cover by decreeing that any future sales or leases of major city assets be required to get longer consideration.
That could be just the start of an aldermanic revolt, some on the Council say.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 7, 2009 10:28 AM
Posted to General Law Related