Paid Parking

 Good morning, and welcome!!

For the past month, I have been working with the liaison of my Wichita council person to obtain information on the new paid parking program enacted by the city last year.  The program consists of a large swath of the downtown area parking that has been converted to kiosk or app payment rather than parking meters.  And, of course, the rates are higher in an effort to collect sufficient funds to maintain parking lots, etc.

The information I would like to see is the income, expenses, and net proceeds of the parking program for the first six months of operation…July through December, 2025.  Brooke, the liaison, pointed me to a web page that had detailed information regarding revenues received.  The information was broken down by month, method of payment, average revenue per parking stall, and other useful information.  What was NOT on the page was expenses and net proceeds.

Brooke has continued to try to get that information for me, but was twice told that I would have to file an open records request in order to receive it.  Of course, that got me to wonder why the revenues were so easily and publicly available, but the expenses were not.  So I went on down the path and contacted my city council person and mayor directly, and they have responded.  The mayor has asked the assistant city manager to make the information available to both the council and to me.  Now, she did this only a couple of days ago, so I don’t expect a response just yet.

I don’t intend to do much with the information if I get it.  I expect that expenses will exceed revenues.  That’s normal for pretty much any start-up project.  However, the reason for continuing with this is the greater issue of transparency in government.

Wichita has had issues with transparency and citizen trust for years.  There have been several decisions made over the years that not only didn’t “smell” right, but ended up being in the best interest of friends and donors to political campaigns instead of the citizenry.  The latest issue to come to a head has been the sales tax question that was resoundingly defeated just a couple of days ago.  Over eighty percent of the voting public said “NO” to a new sales tax promoted by several business partners and put to a vote quickly and without a lot of vetting.  It not only was hastily and poorly presented; it just didn’t “smell” right, and the citizens knew it and soundly trampled it down.

I understand that in running a city the size of Wichita, many decisions are made by managers of varied kinds.  Not all decisions can or should be put before the council, or even the city manager.  However, all departments and all management need to be answerable for the decisions they make.  And the citizens of Wichita need to have access to those decisions, as well as access to whatever background information that is considered to be public information that helped those managers make those decisions.

If I would have been told to file an open records request for all of the parking information…revenues and expenses…I probably would have done so without complaint.  However, to have the revenues so prominently displayed publicly, but the expenses hidden behind a KORA request seems to me to be asking the public to believe the city is hiding something it doesn’t want us to know.  The idea of transparency and trust have once again been relegated to the dumpster out back.  What else are we to think?

Hopefully, eventually, I’ll receive the information I’ve requested one way or the other.  If necessary, I’ll file a KORA request and pay any fees.  Some things I’ve learned to let go of, but I’m stubborn enough to see this through.

I do know I’ve ruffled some feathers.  The mayor has responded to me.  My council person called me.  And a council person who does not represent me but I consider to be a friend has emailed me.  So, we’ll see.  Stay tuned.

A lesson from this, however.  Don’t let things like this get you so worked up that you lose sight of the greater and better things…mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness.  Life is too short to needlessly worry and fret about things like parking revenues and expenses.  Be involved.  Be engaged.  But also be aware that all of these kinds of things are temporary and will pass away.  Give your best concentration instead on the Maker and Creator of all who loves you and wants you with Him in eternity.