Dec 1, 2008 6:37 pm US/Central
City Gets Winning Bid To Privatize Parking Meters
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
It looks like Mayor Daley's giant budget gamble has paid off -- and then some.
On Monday, the city received what a top mayoral aide described as a "winning bid" for Chicago's 35,000 parking meters.
The winner and final price won't be known until Daley announces it Tuesday. But, it's large enough to fill the $150 million budget gap this year and next needed to avoid another painful round of layoffs and tax increases -- and leave a pile of money left over to finance city infrastructure projects.
The sale of yet another city asset means motorists will almost certainly have to pay more to park at metered spaces -- and even higher prices during peak periods in congested areas -- in exchange for more cashless payment and pay-by-phone options.
Based on net parking revenues of $19.5 million in 2007, the city could be in line for an up-front fee similar to the 99-year, $1.83 billion Chicago Skyway. In exchange, the city and Park District would wash their hands of the parking meter headache.
No more parking meter collections and the theft that comes with it. No more repairing broken meters or replacing obsolete equipment. A private company would inherit the responsibility and the revenue, which has grown by 16.5 percent since 2003.
"We received a winning bid. We're pleased with the result, which the mayor will announce [Tuesday]. With City Council approval, it will ensure the $150 million included in the 2009 budget plan and provide substantial additional resources for Chicago taxpayers," said a top mayoral aide, who asked to remain anonymous.
Daley has called a special City Council meeting for Thursday to consider the parking meter deal. The Finance Committee will consider it Wednesday.
Daley's $6 billion 2009 budget --precariously balanced with 635 or fewer layoffs, slow police hiring and $52.5 million worth of taxes, fines and fees -- sailed through the City Council last month amid warnings of even tougher times ahead.
If the mayor didn't seal the parking meter deal by year's end -- and get at least $150 million from the transaction to use for operations this year and next -- Daley would have been forced to find another way to close that gap.
Now, aldermen can breathe a sigh of relief.
Competition for what would be the nation's "first major public-owned parking meter operation" included Wall Street giants, parking experts and affiliates of the Spanish-Australian consortium that leased the Chicago Skyway.
They included: a joint-venture comprised of Worldwide Parking and Pay-Ease; Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners; CPS Chicago Parking, LLC; Mad Park-Chicago Ltd; JPMorgan IIF Acquisitions LLC; Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A. and Dintra Aparcamientos/Dornier, S.A. and Chicago OnStreet Alliance, comprised of Macquarie Capital Group Ltd., Serco Inc. and Duncan Solutions.
The list also included: Chicago MP:2058, a partnership of Kenny Project Services, Impark, and Plainfield Asset Management; a partnership between ACS State and Local Solutions and Lehman Brothers and a joint-venture that includes Abertis Infraestructuras S.A. and Saba Aparcamientos, S.A.
Chicago parking meters are the fourth major asset unloaded by the mayor. The sell-off started with the Chicago Skyway ($1.83 billion), continued with downtown parking garages ($563 million) and culminated in the sale of Midway Airport ($2.5 billion).
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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