Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan says it is unfair of the private sector to accuse the government and city of not consulting on the controversial metered parking when there is evidence of efforts to do so.
Bulkan today released a copy of a letter he sent to the Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Edward Boyer on January 10th 2017 in response to a November 25th, 2016 letter that Boyer had penned to President David Granger on concerns about the parking meters.
In a statement today, Bulkan noted that in the final paragraph of his letter to Boyer he invited feedback from the PSC on the rationale for the parking meters as laid out by the Mayor and City Council in the said letter. Bulkan said that there was no response from the PSC to the letter. Bulkan added that the invitation to dialogue remains open and that “such dialogue is likely to be far more fruitful than confrontation, whether in the streets or via the media”.
Friday saw hundreds of people protesting against the parking meters and calling for a boycott to starve the company out of business. Today, in the main, the meters are still being boycotted.
A copy of Bulkan’s letter to Boyer follows:
2017.01.10
Mr. Edward Boyer
Chairman
Private Sector Commission of Guyana Ltd.
157 Waterloo St.
North Cummingsburg, Georgetown
Re: Parking Meters
Dear Mr. Boyer,
In reference to your letter of November 25th, 2016 on behalf of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) to H.E. President David Granger on the Georgetown M&CC plans to implement parking meters as a revenue-generation option for the city.
Please note the following information that was provided by the Mayor in response to the concerns raised in your letter:
- The M&CC has been discussing implementation of a metered Parking System for the city since 1995, this has been given extensive review and examination by the Town Clerk, City Treasurer, and City Engineer.
- Late last year Council formalized an Agreement with National Parking Systems (NPS) who introduced the Council to an international Consortium with extensive experience, financial resources, and know how in on-street municipal parking meter systems in Mexico, Panama, and in Peru.
- The financial distribution structure which provides for allocation of 20% of revenue (increasing to 25% and then 30% over the life of the project) is based both on comparable metered parking projects in the region (see (1) below), as well as on the particulars of the metered parking project in the Georgetown (2).
- Regional Comparable Terms in Metered Parking Projects:
- Ecuador (Municipality of Canton Playas) where 15% of revenues are pledged to the Municipality.
- Colombia (Municipalities of Medellin and Barranquilla) where the revenues pledge to the Municipality range from 15% to 22%.
- Panama (Municipality of David) where a concession for up to 1,000 parking spaces was tendered with a required payment to the Municipality of $100,000 USD per year (increasing by $5,000 USD per year over the 20 year life of the concession). Though this was not percentage based, the equivalence is $100. USD per parking space per year or $8.33 USD per parking space per month.
- Particulars of the metered parking project in Georgetown:
- The 20% payable to the City was negotiated to increase to 30% over the life of the project.
- The 20% concession fee payable to the City is from revenue, irrespective of the company’s profits or losses.
- The remaining 80% of the revenue is to cover:
- The amortization of the investment in the project which is fully contributed by the company (estimated at $10 million USD).
- The operating costs of the project which are fully contributed by the company.
- The risks of the project and its successful execution in an environment for which such a project represents a cultural shift are fully assumed by the Company.
- Net income, if any, which may be generated after satisfaction of the above is subject to be taxed at the corporate income tax rate of 35%.
- Proper execution of the project presents many other potential direct or indirect benefits to the City beyond the Concession Fee, including:\
- Increased Parking availability and Reduced Traffic congestion as studies have shown that 33% of traffic congestion on city streets is caused by drivers searching for parking.
- Reduction of waste of time, waste of gasoline, wear-and-tear on vehicles, and pollution. This has been proven in large cities like Mexico City, where according to studies of the Mexico City Government the implementation of parking meters actually served to:
- Reduce distance travelled in search for parking from 105 million kilometers annually to 24 million kilometers annually = savings of 77%.
- Man hours expended in search of parking from 9 million hours annually to 2 million hours annually = savings of 78%.
- Gasolene expended in search for parking from 10 million liters annually to 2 million liters annually = savings of 80%.
- CO2 emissions expended in search for parking from 23 million hours annually to 5 million hours annually = savings of 78%.
- Increased vigilance and security on City streets due to the initiation of patrols on the streets for the purposes of parking regulations enforcement.
- Creation of more than 100 jobs.
- Increased economic activities at businesses (as studies have shown positive co-relation between the price of parking and economic activity).
- Reduction of illegal parking.
- Increased Order on City streets.
- Improved Municipal Image.
- Better traffic flow improves Emergency Services (Ambulances, Fire, Police) response times.
The information above used by the M&CC to make the decision to implement the Parking Meters for the City of Georgetown as a revenue generation option is to help the City to address their shortage of funds to provide services to the citizens and visitors to the City.
The M&CC looks forward to assistance from and collaboration with the PSC to improve its operational efficiencies in discharge of its tasks of managing the affairs of the City of Georgetown.
The PSC’s concerns and interest in the proper management of the national capital is noted and appreciated.
Sincerely,
Ronald Bulkan
Minister of Communities
Copied: Her Worship – Mayor Patricia Chase-Green
Hon. David Patterson – Minister of Public Infrastructure
Hon. Carl B. Greenidge – Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hon. Dominic Gaskin – Minister of Business
Mr. Chris Fernandes c /o John Fernandes Ltd.
Mr. Ramesh Persaud c / o Private Sector Commission.