* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Curran
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Informational Hearing - Parking Tax
FOR the purpose of requesting the Baltimore City Comptroller and the City Auditor to report to the City Council on Parking Tax collections; the number of facilities in the City the parking tax should apply to; the number of facilities from which the tax is currently being collected; and the amount of revenue that would be collected if all parking facilities subject to the tax remitted the appropriate amount to City government.
Body
Recitals
Baltimore City's parking tax, first enacted in 1968, was amended September 2008, to provide for a change from the current 2-tiered rate that computed tax differently for daily and monthly parking to a single 16% tax on parking. The revised tax is expected to raise from $4 to $6 million additional revenue a year and will be used, in part, to support a system of shuttle buses to facilitate the movement of people around downtown neighborhoods.
The Department of Finance reports that Parking Tax Revenues for FY 2005 through FY 2009, under the 2- tiered system ranged from a low of $16,195,784 to a high of $18,480,586 (budgeted prior to passage of the new rate) for FY 2009. The projected revenues for FY 2009, with the imposition of the 16% rate in December 2008, are expected to reach $21,026,000. In FY 2010, the first full year at the 16% rate, revenues are expected to be $23,269,000.
As reported in TRAC: Local Option Commercial Parking Tax Analysis, a report prepared for the Washington State Transportation Commission, "parking is a critical element in any transportation system. Research has shown parking to be the most important factor in modal choice as well as influential in investment and residential or job location decisions..But parking is not free; if it is not paid for by the users, its cost is passed on to others. Free or subsidized parking also makes the cost of driving to work very low in comparison to transit. This reinforces an inefficient choice because of the considerable divergence between social costs and individual responsibility for these costs."
In order to realize the ultimate in parking tax revenues and to make certain that those individuals who use parking facilities fairly pay for the impact on our communities, it is essential that a comprehensive review of parking tax collections be performed.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Baltimore City Comptroller and the City Auditor are requested to report to the City Council on Parking Tax collections; the number of facilities in the City the parking tax should apply to; the number of facilities from which the tax is currently being collected; and the amount of revenue that would be collected if all parking facilities subject to the tax remitted the appropriate amount to City government.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Comptroller, the City Auditor, the Director of Finance, the Baltimore City Parking Authority Board, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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