On December 13, 2023, at the request of Commissioners David Suarez and Alex Fernandez, the Mayor and Commission referred item C4 E to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC). The item requested discussion on the potential reinstitution of residential parking permit decals to identify vehicles permitted to park within a specific residential parking zone in lieu of, or in conjunction with, the current virtual system which exclusively validates residential parking zone status based on a scan of the vehicle’s license plate.

At the February 23, 2024 the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) meeting, the Committee heard this item and unanimously agreed to forward to the full City Commission a favorable recommendation for the reinstitution of the Parking Department decal program. It also recommended the replacement of the inoperative mobile License Plate Reader (LPR) equipment and directed staff to return to the March FERC meeting to discuss parking staffing.

With the increase of budgeted PES positions, the department was able to reinstate officers who were displaced to other departments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the majority of long-tenured part-time staffers were promoted to full-time positions. While full-time positions were successfully filled, the Department has encountered challenges filling part-time positions.

Previously, the City required PES applicants to hold on their driver license, a motorcycle endorsement. Additionally, applicants were required to be certified as parking enforcement specialists. Certification was obtained through Broward College and Miami Dade College. However, during the pandemic, these colleges ceased to offer certification training. Consequently, PES recruitment rendered lists of recurring applicants. With the aim of obtaining more unique, first-time applicants, the City eliminated the motorcycle endorsement as well as the pre-certification requirement. New lists of applicants were generated, and non-certified specialists were hired, with a caveat that new hires would receive their certifications within six (6) months of being hired.

As experienced by many employers, the Department has encountered challenges recruiting and retaining Parking Enforcement Specialists. Last year, the Parking Department held PES interviews on four (4) occasions. Note that 79 interviews were scheduled of which only 54 applicants reported for the interview. Of these, 30 applicants were hired. Despite our efforts, we currently have ten (10) part-time vacancies. Interviews are being scheduled for April 2024.