City Council Raising Parking Rates, Cutting Legal Fees

Photo courtesy Flickr pool superstar Slightlynorth

The City Council is going along with Mayor McGinn's plan to raise parking meter rates in Seattle, to as much as $4 an hour, but won't increase the parking tax rate paid by private lots and garages. They're also calling for two parking studies: one to determine the best rates for neighborhoods, and one to follow up on Tim Burgess's interest in dynamic parking pricing. (Here's his parking op-ed with Mike O'Brien.)

Nothing about the budget process is likely to be uncontroversial, but so far only PubliCola has paid much attention to the Council's tentative approval of City Attorney Pete Holmes' try at belt-tightening. Holmes wants the city to halt "a longstanding contract with private law firm Stafford Frey, which defends the police department in tort cases." He claims that many cases can be handled by city attorneys for about one-third the cost of Stafford Frey's billings, though the city will open more complicated cases for bid. 

The savings could amount to $1 million. But as Dominic Holden reports in the Stranger, Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild, has threatened to sue the city if the union doesn't get the more pricy representation.

"Over the last six or seven years, this was a real hot potato," the Council's Nick Licata told Holden. It still is. But a $67 million deficit may have the last say.