As Budget Gap Grows, Parking Meter Money Almost Gone

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jul 21, 2010 4:30PM

Remember the infamous Parking Meter deal? The one that then Inspector General David Hoffman said was only worth about half of what the city could have gotten in the deal? Well, it's almost gone and the city is staring at an ever-growing budget hole that seems to keep growing. According to a report in the Sun-Times this morning, the budget gap approaches $700 million when CPD and CFD contracts are added in. And as for the $1.15 billion parking meter deal? The Sun-Times reports there's only $180 million left after less than two years have passed on the 75-year lease. And then there are the Skyway reserves, a $1.83 billion deal of which there is only $550 million remaining after less than five years of that 99-year deal. Our pals at The Expired Meter have more perspective on exactly what has gone wrong with the parking meter money. So where will the money come from now that the City has instituted furlough days and Mayor Daley has said he won't raise property taxes? For starters:

He can raid the reserves, consolidate city departments, farm out or eliminate nonessential services or use a combination of those options.

Daley is not expected to raid the the $500 million long-term reserve fund generated by the Skyway windfall, because doing so could threaten the bond rating that determines city borrowing costs.

Daley has also already promised to not raise property taxes, a platform most think he'll champion if/when he runs for re-election. Daley's cuts from this year's budget weren't popular so it'll be interesting to see how he plans to stem the bleeding when the city's preliminary budget for 2011 is released at the end of this month. Don't be surprised if recent rumors of reviving the Midway privatization deal see a new life very soon. In the meantime, thank God for those giant, destructive robots.