Council votes to continue 'text-to-pay' parking service after outage concerns

Council debated whether to continue the city's "text to pay" parking system after staff reported the vendor had been unaware of a recent outage that interrupted credit-card payments.

The Chair said the system brought in roughly $3,500 last year and costs about $1,000 per year to operate, and that staff would evaluate the service once it is restored. "So I'll make the motion to continue using text," the Chair said before the motion passed by roll call (SEG 542–571). Council agreed to continue the subscription for now and to gather additional information about reliability and signage to increase public awareness.

Staff also said they would contact the vendor to negotiate potential discounts for a year-long subscription and to report back with pricing and performance data for next year’s budget review (SEG 618–622).