Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — The Jackson City Council wants to make sure it gets the best deal for the City's lucrative parking-meter contract, including a requirement doubling the current rates for the meters with no indication that fines would change.

At last Tuesday's meeting, the council moved the contract with Hudson and Associates, LLC back to committee for more consideration despite what seemed to be unanimous support.

A City memo included in the council's agenda packet from the head of the Department of Public Works to the mayor states that the City receives approximately $180,000 in revenue annually from the meters with $80,000 for labor costs and supplies. The Municipal Court reported a revenue of $106,105 from parking-meter violations for fiscal year 2015, while it cost the police department $53,256 for the two officers to patrol.

"This equates to revenue after expenses from the City's current parking-meter program of approximately $153,000," the memo states. "Even in fiscal year 2011 when revenue from meters was $199,228 and fines from parking meter violations was $163,034, revenue after expenses was approximately $230,000."

Council President Tyrone Hendrix said he believes the whole council supports the expansion of the parking-meter program through a public-private partnership. The proposed contract would guarantee the city $250,000 annually or a certain percentage of the profits, whichever would be greater depending on what year the contract is in.

"I do want to say that all of us are happy about us moving forward and updating our parking meters downtown as a source of real revenue that we can see," Hendrix said. "So we want to make sure that we do this thing the right way."

At the moment, three different city departments handle the parking meters: Public works maintains and collects revenue, the police enforce the parking ordinances, and the mayoral administration collects the fines and coordinates adjudication of fines. Under the new contract, Hudson and Associates, LLC would take over all operations for a term of 10 years, with options for the City to terminate the contract after years four and seven.

Hendrix says the council needs to consider the contract carefully now because it can put the City on the hook for years. "So that's why we are pushing it to the rules committee," he said.

The collection and allocation of revenue between the City of Jackson and Hudson and Associates also has a time element. Hudson agreed as a part of its proposal to put up the $1.4 million that it would take to replace all existing parking meters, saving the City an additional up-front cost.

The proposed agreement, contained in the memo sent to council, includes a guarantee that the City will receive a minimum of $250,008 annually, sent in monthly amounts, or certain percentages, whichever is greater. For the first two years, the City will receive that minimum amount or 25 percent of annual profits; for the next two, 30 percent or the guarantee; for years five through seven, 35 percent or the minimum; and for years eight through 10, 40 percent of annual profits or the minimum, whichever is more.

As a part of the contract, the rates for the meters will double from 50 cents to $1 for the term of the contract.

Stamps suggested that the City put in more money at the beginning to hold on to more of the profits down the line. "If we put an investment in, could we get more of a return?" Stamps asked.

He said when he has looked at other private-public partnerships in the City, he was not happy. "I don't see too many that are working well," Stamps said. "And this is a long-term deal so I think that we should look at it more."

Mayor Tony Yarber said the administration did not mind taking time to consider the partnership. "The administration has absolutely no problem with the council taking their time on this item," Yarber said. "As a matter of fact, that's what we had been doing, and we wanted to get it to you because we were starting to get beat up about how long it was taking us to get it to council because we were trying to do our due diligence as well."

The memo estimated that, based on the company's prediction, the City's annual take from the meters would steadily increase.

"Based on Hudson's projections, the City would receive $294,650 in years three and four, $343,759 in years five through seven, and $392,867 in years eight and ten," the memo states.

Yarber warned the council that the numbers might change the longer they wrangle over the details. "Please feel free to do that, but the only thing that I want to make the council mindful of is after so long the price point is affected," Yarber said.

The mayor said that the City would not spend any of its money on the project and that local companies would perform 50 percent of the work product.

As for the company itself, there is, as of press time, no entry in the Mississippi secretary of state's online registry for Hudson and Associates, LLC. A company listed under that name, in St. Louis, Mo., confirmed through a representative that it is the company mentioned in the proposed city contract, but the chief executive officer, Shirley Hudson, was not available for comment.

The council moved the topic to the rules committee for consideration.

Email city reporter Tim Summers Jr. at [email protected]. See more local news at jfp.ms/localnews.