JACKSON, Miss.—Months after the City of Jackson reinstituted a new paid parking system downtown, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba is responding to residents’ complaints about the digital kiosks and the cost of parking fines.
“It is revenue that is sorely needed in this city,” Lumumba said during a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday.
“When we came into this city, what we saw was a city that is revenue starved but has a multitude of needs. … Our budget is about as thin as it can be,” he continued. “We have to make certain that we generate new sources of revenue. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
The City of Jackson could bring in an estimated $2 million annually from the new paid parking venture, SP Plus Corporation Regional Manager Casey Robinson said during a press conference at City Hall earlier this year.
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SP Plus is the company that manages and facilitates the Mississippi capital city’s new, on-street parking kiosks that replaced the city’s decades-old, coin-operated meters.
But over the past few weeks, some residents have raised concerns that the community may not have been ready for the change.
During a Jackson City Council meeting at City Hall on Nov. 19, several residents spoke and asked the council to rescind the City’s contract with the company.
They cited issues like lack of information for the city’s elderly residents about how the kiosks work and the costs of parking citations.
“There’s other ways to find money to run this city,” former Hinds County Board Supervisor David Archie said on Nov. 19 while speaking in front of the council.
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An SP Plus parking kiosk sign is pictured near Pascagoula Street in Jackson. Photo by Shaunicy Muhammad ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?resize=780%2C519&ssl=1″ alt=”Parking sign on a street” class=”wp-image-50192″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pay_to_Park_cred_Shaunicy_Muhammad-1024×682.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px”>An SP Plus parking kiosk sign is
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