Politics

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) on Thursday accused the private operators of the complained that the city's parking meter operators were being "deceptive," after she was charged $32.50 at a two-hour parking meter that charged her for parking overnight.

Hairston told representatives from Chicago Parking Meters LLC, LAZ Parking and Morgan Stanley about the issue at a City Council Finance Committee hearing on the issues stemming from the city's 75-year, $1.15 billion lease on the parking meters.

She said while attending a dinner on Wacker Drive near the Sears Tower recently, she pressed the "max" button on a new pay-box parking meter, and was charged $32.50.

Chicago Parking Meters LLC Chief Executive Officer Dennis Pedrelli said this happened because Hairston parked on the street around 7 p.m., at which time the meter is programmed to charge for parking overnight, through 10 a.m. the next morning.

But Hairston complained that there is no indication that pushing the "max" button will result in a bill for overnight parking.

"You have to communicate, and you can't be deceiving the public," Hairston said.

Pedrelli said the same programming is "widely used throughout the city," in parking lots that contain meters. But Hairston called comparing parking in a lot to parking on the street "apples and oranges," and called $32.50 to park on the street "robbery."

Pedrelli said the programming for the meters will be changed.

Earlier in the hearing, several aldermen complained about the problems that have stemmed from the meter lease deal before a group that included city Chief Financial Officer Gene Saffold and William Blair & Company Principal Thomas Lanctot. William Blair was the independent financial adviser to the city for the meter lease deal.

Saffold disputed the validity of a report by the city Inspector General's office that indicated the city could have reaped $1 billion more for the meters than it got in the deal. Saffold and the William Blair officials said the Inspector General's report underestimated capital expenditures and operational costs for the meters, and mischaracterized the meter lease as a "very low risk" project.

But Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) said two other reports had also indicated that the city could have received $1 billion more.

Ald. Ed Smith (28th) said if the Inspector General's report and the reports that Waguespack presented are correct: "It's not only a serious disagreement, but it's a serious flaw if that's the case. And we're really not in a position to be in caught in this kind of a bind. It makes us not look smart."

Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) expressed concerns that commercial strips in the city are losing business because no one is parking at the suddenly far more expensive meters.

"If we don't get utilization up, our districts are going to suffer in retail sales," he said.

Several aldermen, including Tunney and Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) asked about whether the parking meter deal could be voided altogether.

Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel Jim McDonald said the private parking meter operator would have to display failure to uphold its contract with the city. When Reilly asked about voiding the contract effective Jan. 1, 2010, McDonald said the city would have to remit a termination payment.

When the parking meter lease took effect at the beginning of the year, parking rates went up to as little as 5 minutes per quarter in some areas, and free parking on Sundays and holidays was eliminated. Some motorists became so angry that they began vandalizing the meters.

Chicago Parking Meters LLC is replacing many meters with pay boxes, although they have also been subject to problems. In May, a suspected computer glitch caused all the parking meter pay boxes to crash.

Adam Harrington, cbs2chicago.com

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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