JACKSON, Miss.—Months after the City of Jackson reinstituted a new paid parking system downtown, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba is responding to residents’ complaints about the digital kiosks and the cost of parking fines.
“It is revenue that is sorely needed in this city,” Lumumba said during a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday.
“When we came into this city, what we saw was a city that is revenue starved but has a multitude of needs. … Our budget is about as thin as it can be,” he continued. “We have to make certain that we generate new sources of revenue. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
The City of Jackson could bring in an estimated $2 million annually from the new paid parking venture, SP Plus Corporation Regional Manager Casey Robinson said during a press conference at City Hall earlier this year.
SP Plus is the company that manages and facilitates Jackson’s new, on-street parking kiosks that replaced the city’s decades-old, coin-operated meters.
But over the past few weeks, some residents have raised concerns that the community may not have been ready for the change.
During a Jackson City Council meeting at City Hall on Nov. 19, several residents spoke and asked the council to rescind the City’s contract with the company.
They cited issues like lack of information for the city’s elderly residents about how the kiosks work and the costs of parking citations.
“There’s other ways to find money to run this city,” former Hinds County Board Supervisor David Archie said on Nov. 19 while speaking in front of the council.
Archie implored council members to “investigate” the issue in their wards. “Go around in your community and see if the citizens would like to have parking meters in downtown Jackson,” he said.
Parking downtown using the SP Plus kiosks is currently $1 per hour, which residents can pay by cash or card. The company also offers drivers the option of text-to-pay or using parking.com to find designated parking spots and pay the hourly fee.
A citation for parking without paying starts off at $24.50 and rises to $44.50 if not paid by the deadline on the ticket.
On Nov. 19, Archie said those penalties are too steep for Jacksonians to pay. He accused SP Plus of being a “money-hungry, greedy company” that puts “profit over people.”
If an SP Plus parking enforcement officer flags a driver’s vehicle for parking in a designated spot without paying, that driver can appeal their ticket by requesting a hearing at the Jackson Municipal Court.
During the Jackson City Council’s meeting on Nov. 19, Ward 5 City Councilman Vernon Hartley said he would not support rescinding the City’s contract with the company but added that the City must work to make parking accessible to older residents.
“We have a responsibility to our elderly, to the folks who may not be computer or digital savvy, to do something that makes it easier,” he said.
Hartley suggested that city leadership could talk with the management company about different kiosk options that may be simpler for the city’s older residents to use.
“I really don’t want to see the City of Jackson or the Council in a legal matter where we’re being sued because we went back on our word,” he added. “I think we should work within the confines of our relationship with the company.”
The Council did not vote for or against rescinding the contract on Nov. 19.
Following the Council’s back-and-forth discussion, Council President Virgi Lindsay decided to table the issue for future discussion in their planning committee.
On Wednesday, Lumumba shared that the City plans to eventually install additional kiosks to mitigate the issue with elderly or disabled residents. The City is also discussing ways to communicate to residents about how the kiosks work, he said.
He did not give details for when the next rollout will begin but added that he does intend to meet with residents to hear their concerns.
