The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board of directors met Tuesday to discuss ways to generate revenue and close a $21 million deficit the agency faces this fiscal year.
SFMTA officials looked at expenditures and ways to generate revenue, including the controversial deployment of parking control officers to bring in revenue from parking citations. The suggestion has caused some motorists to think the agency is “declaring war on drivers,” chairman Tom Nolan said.
Nolan and other transportation representatives said the agency is not placing the responsibility of closing the deficit on motorists.
“Ticketing drivers isn’t the only way we’re going to balance the budget,” SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose said.
The board came to the conclusion that drivers must be paying closer attention to parking signs any complying with the rules–and feeding meters–in order to avoid citations.
“Where do we get the revenue with people now behaving themselves?” director Bruce Oka said.
Consequently, the agency does expect revenue from parking meters to increase.
Between being assigned to direct traffic at special events–including Giants games, vacancies due to retirements, and mandatory furloughs, parking control officers weren’t able to spend as much time on the streets enforcing parking rules, Rose said.
For now, the agency is focusing on its parking control officer deployment practices–including beats and shifts, which haven’t been examined since the late 1970s or early ’80s, Rose said.
“We want to make sure we’re being as efficient as possible when our (officers) deploy,” Rose said.
Other ways to bring in funds include sales of $250,000 taxi medallions, a one-time purchase all cab drivers are required to make, Rose said.
Medallion sales are expected to bring in about $10 million for this fiscal year, according to Rose.
In an effort to reduce expenses, hiring and employee overtime will be closely monitored, Rose said.
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