Alderman Looking For Ways To Buy Out Parking Meter Deal
By Chuck Sudo in News on May 14, 2013 9:45PM
In a letter to his constituents Monday, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said he was speaking with experts on municipal bonds to “identify ways for the City of Chicago to potentially buy back” Chicago’s parking meters from the consortium that now manages them.
Reilly’s announcement is another wrinkle in the parking meter deal saga that’s taken some twists and turns since Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration negotiated changes to the hated deal, the most notable being swapping free neighborhood parking on Sundays in exchange for an extra hour of metered parking on weeknights and three extra metered hours in downtown and River North — part of Reilly’s ward. Reilly has been vocal in his opposition to the changes in the deal and is leading a “drop the swap” movement geared toward keeping the original 2008 contract in place and simply paying the $63.8 million the city owes Chicago Parking Meters LLC.
Reilly’s letter walked a fine line between deference to Emanuel and searching for better options to the parking meter deal than the ones the mayor negotiated.
I consider myself one of Mayor Emanuel's supporters on the City Council and have enjoyed a solid working relationship with him over the past two years. I truly believe his team did an excellent job negotiating a settlement to the $1 billion in potential liability over the term of the lease and I would vote to approve that good work in a heartbeat. However, extending meter hours until 10 PM or Midnight for more than 29,000 parking spaces across the City, six days a week, would be a burden for many families across Chicago and could result in yet another windfall for CPM. I simply cannot support this proposal. I do not relish this public disagreement with the Mayor. But, as I proved during the Daley Administration, I will always stand up and oppose policies when I genuinely believe they could hurt downtown Chicago or the city at-large. My first loyalty as Alderman of the 42nd Ward is to the thousands of constituents who have trusted me with protecting their interests on the City Council.
Reilly also said aldermen need more time to review the changes, which have been introduced as an ordinance the size of a phone book and, if approved by City Council, could stand to make Chicago Parking Meters even more money.
Last week, 24 aldermen announced their support of the changes to the deal; only 26 need to vote in favor for them to take effect.
Emanuel has repeatedly said he's trying to make the best out of a bad deal he inherited, with the upfront money from that deal all but gone. Here's what the Sun-Times quoted Emanuel as saying:
“We don’t have the money. We spent it prior to my coming here. We don’t have the billions of dollars.”
Yet his administration apparently found some money to help DePaul build a new stadium near McCormick Place. A mayoral spokesman told the Sun-Times.
“While the city might be able to borrow money retired by future parking meter revenues, a city bonding deal without additional equity would not be attractive enough compared to potential competition or CPM’s own capabilities. In addition, any deal like this, would increase pressure on future rates. This route is unrealistic and untenable.”
Reilly believes where there's a will, there's a way.
“If it was structured in such a way that we get immediate control of the asset as far as decision-making about how the meter system is run and we forego 25-to-30 years of revenue to service the debt off the meters, that could put us in a position to own that asset and benefit from that revenue stream after we’ve paid off the bonds. That could be decades before the lease deal expires. That’s what I want to understand before we close the door on that altogether,” Reilly said.