At the Commission meeting of September16, 2020 the FY2021 Parking Department budget was thoroughly discussed. The Parking Department FY2021 budget included many reductions and efficiencies (initiatives) required to balance due to the revenue loss as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the initiatives included a 25% reduction in parking enforcement labor hours, proportionate to the percentage of revenue loss expected for FY2021, in addition to a hybrid staffing plan where 50% of parking enforcement positions would be filled by part-time City enforcement officers and 50% would be part-time contracted officers. Since the City was under a hiring freeze due to the pandemic, City Administration was able to offer the existing 33 full time employees in the enforcement division including five (5) dispatchers the opportunity to interview for vacant positions in the City and retain full time employment with benefits at their existing salaries or in the case of promotions, at higher salaries. After input from the Union, Parking employees, members of the public and following an extensive exchange amongst the Mayor and City Commissioners, a motion was passed to provide the Parking Department a 12-month glide path to right size the Department without privatization. The motion included:
1. Deferring action for 12 months to allow the Department a year to downsize the Department and find efficiencies, specifically delaying the conversion of full-time positions into part-time positions for those employees who did not accept full-time employment in other department of the City.
2. Providing funding from the General Fund to subsidize the shortfall created by the 17 full time employees who did not accept full time positions in other departments.
At the September 29, 2020 Commission meeting, CFO John Woodruff advised that $1.2 million dollars from the General Fund would be transferred to the Parking Department to fund 17 full time positions in the Parking Department’s enforcement division. Of these positions, 15 are Parking Enforcement Specialists I (PESI) and two (2) are Parking Dispatchers (Dispatcher).
At the time, nine (9) PESI were on duty, however, following approval of the budget, the remaining six (6) full-time Parking Enforcement Specialists on furlough were called to return to work effective 10/5/2020. Of the six (6): one (1) is on light duty assigned to another department; one (1) asked for an additional week off and is out on sick leave; while the other four (4) reported to work, bringing the total of full-time enforcement officers currently working to 13. The week of 10/26/20, two (2) furloughed part-timers returned to work. This week (11/2) two (2) additional part-timers returned to work. Two (2) additional part-time enforcement officers are scheduled to return to work the week of 11/9. This would leave 10 part-time enforcement officers and two (2) part-time dispatchers still on furlough. Part-time staffing has been added gradually to allow time to measure staffing impact as well as a precautionary measure given the rise in COVID cases.
The chart below reveals the impact of the additional staffing on scanning, citing, and towing.
Below is a chart depicting the recent weekly revenue loss as compared to the pre-Covid average weekly revenue.
It is important to note that the end of month revenues tend to be higher because of permit renewal. In general, our revenues are slowly growing and most importantly surpassing our projection of 40% revenue (-60%) budgeted for the month of October.
Parking Administration continues to evaluate other areas for efficiencies. Due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, we continue to operate with minimum staffing levels and have not filled vacancies in other divisions of the department. In the Off-Street Division staff assigned to garages was cut by 33% (from 9 to 6). In the maintenance division staff assigned to painting garages, parking spaces, and curbs; making, repairing, and installing signage; repairing potholes; etc. Two (2) full time vacancies and one (1) part-time vacancy have not been filled. Additionally, staff has been re-purposed to provide services for suspended contracts such as security in garages. In the Meter shop two (2) vacant part-time positions have not been filled and remaining staff has been re-purposed to pressure wash garages and clean lots, services previously provided by the sanitation division at higher rates and by an outsourced contract that was suspended. In Administration, current staffing is at a 47% from pre-COVID level; this includes five (5) positions that were eliminated, three (3) vacancies and two (2) positions working at the resource center. Facilities have not been abandoned but require additional attention and therefore, with the new budget, security services will be resumed in garages and maintenance staff will work on refurbishing facilities and bringing these to higher aesthetic standards.