The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce has released a comprehensive recommendation to address a critical funding shortfall for the City of Jackson’s parking infrastructure, offering a fair and sustainable alternative to recent proposals. After extensive analysis and community feedback, the Chamber is advocating for a balanced approach that avoids burdensome parking assessments while still meeting the infrastructure funding needs.
Originally, the City of Jackson proposed raising $750,000 annually through significant parking assessment hikes or installing parking meters. The Chamber’s plan reduces that target by 20% to $600,000 and instead relies on increases to parking permit fees and fines, coupled with a one-time flat fee of approximately $700 per property owner. This method avoids ongoing financial strain on downtown businesses and is estimated to generate between $595,000 and $602,000 annually - closing the current funding gap.
Key features of the plan include raising the base fine for parking violations to $28—bringing Jackson more in line with peer cities—and increasing permit fees by 25%. It also introduces a free or reduced permit option for low-income downtown workers, ensuring affordability and access. The strategy encourages compliance, deters violations and positions parking permits as a more attractive option, all while preserving customer foot traffic downtown.
“It has been encouraging to see the level of community engagement on the parking infrastructure issue,” said Ryan Tarrant, President & CEO of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. “When citizens become active participants in the policy-making process it helps to create better solutions for our community. The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce has developed a fair and balanced recommendation that both meets the needs of our business community and continues to make Downtown Jackson an appealing and affordable destination for customers and visitors”.
With input from the business community, the Chamber’s proposal aims to promote fairness by focusing revenue generation on non-compliance, flexibility through one-time fees that can be reassessed and sustainability by aligning with long-term infrastructure goals. The Chamber emphasizes that the success of this approach depends on continued collaboration and community support.
Read the full recommendation at www.jacksonchamber.org.
Originally, the City of Jackson proposed raising $750,000 annually through significant parking assessment hikes or installing parking meters. The Chamber’s plan reduces that target by 20% to $600,000 and instead relies on increases to parking permit fees and fines, coupled with a one-time flat fee of approximately $700 per property owner. This method avoids ongoing financial strain on downtown businesses and is estimated to generate between $595,000 and $602,000 annually - closing the current funding gap.
Key features of the plan include raising the base fine for parking violations to $28—bringing Jackson more in line with peer cities—and increasing permit fees by 25%. It also introduces a free or reduced permit option for low-income downtown workers, ensuring affordability and access. The strategy encourages compliance, deters violations and positions parking permits as a more attractive option, all while preserving customer foot traffic downtown.
“It has been encouraging to see the level of community engagement on the parking infrastructure issue,” said Ryan Tarrant, President & CEO of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. “When citizens become active participants in the policy-making process it helps to create better solutions for our community. The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce has developed a fair and balanced recommendation that both meets the needs of our business community and continues to make Downtown Jackson an appealing and affordable destination for customers and visitors”.
With input from the business community, the Chamber’s proposal aims to promote fairness by focusing revenue generation on non-compliance, flexibility through one-time fees that can be reassessed and sustainability by aligning with long-term infrastructure goals. The Chamber emphasizes that the success of this approach depends on continued collaboration and community support.
Read the full recommendation at www.jacksonchamber.org.
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