The Santa Barbara City Finance Committee got an early look at how the city plans to fund the struggling Downtown Parking and Services budget without any major operational changes or price hikes for parking rates. Without any of the suggested changes, the Downtown Parking program is expected to take in around $10 million a year, while expenditures are well over $13 million, leaving the city in the hole more than $3 million.
On Tuesday, Downtown Team Manager Sarah Clark laid out the proposed method to fix the broken parking budget, which can no longer sustain itself as the cost of services continues to eat away at the enterprise program’s reserve funds. Under this plan, the city would increase revenues by introducing a new test lot in the Funk Zone to try new payment systems, and by cracking down on the commonly used tactic known as the “75-minute shuffle,” in which cars exit and return to the same lot multiple times a day to avoid paying for parking.
The changes could increase revenues by up to $445,000, while the city would save another $875,000 by deferring capital projects temporarily. This would bring the program’s budget deficit closer to $1.8 million, which could then be provided by the city’s general fund to keep services afloat for fiscal year 2025.
