Commentary - O'Malley Does Right Thing with Parking

But - Will He Do More?

By Thom LaCosta

     Friday, February 18, 2000 marked a day when Baltimore's Mayor, Martin O'Malley did the right thing for the City of Baltimore, taxpayers and folks who work in the downtown area.

     O'Malley suspended all on-street parking permits issued to city employees and announced that permits issued to private sector employers would be phased out when they expire on June 30, 2000.

     Like Topsy, the number of parking spaces given away to city employees and private sector employers has grown over the years, while at the same time, businesses in downtown, commuters and city officials have been struggling with the lack of parking.

     In what appears to be a radical departure from previous administrations, O'Malley stated, "The bottom line is government workers -- and people with connections to government -- shouldn't have privileges that aren't available to the public unless there's a compelling reason that serves the public."

     "I've directed Mr. Winfield [the public works director] not to issue any new permits. I've directed my staff to turn in their permits," O'Malley said. When his administration took office, O'Malley explained, employees "were given their key, their box of paper clips, their special parking permit.

     New permits will not be issued, O'Malley said, "Unless a cabinet head certifies that there is some compelling reason."

     "I can see some compelling reason that justifies one of them, two of them, but not 1,800."

     The list of 1,800 permit spaces does not include an equally large list of city employees who have passes to park in garages.

     O'Malley's actions, which appear to have been prompted by inquiries from The Baltimore Press, a weekly newspaper, should stem a loss of as much as $800,000 in parking meter revenue.

     The move by O'Malley proves that government is not immoveable, that special classes of city workers do not have to exist, and that what's wrong doesn't have to be translated into what's right for a few.

     Reactions to the change have been mixed; some city officials applauded the change, while some employees were upset. An un-named worker in City Hall bemoaned the loss of permits -- explaining that workers had expected them as a job benefit -- and cited an unfortunate co-worker who only earned $32,500.00 a year, and now had to pay for parking.

     It's kind of amusing that there are many people who work or live in Baltimore City who earn less than 32,500 dollars a year and have been paying to park for years. One would suspect they now feel somewhat vindicated, knowing that city employees are now out of the privilege loop.

     Let's hope that O'Malley can now address parking issues for everyone who comes into downtown. An interesting place to start would be around City Hall and the Municipal Building -- Maybe it's time for the Meter Maids to ticket the City of Baltimore Vehicles that sit in metered spots with no time on the meter, while the rest of us drive around the block, go to a commercial garage, or simply give up on the idea of dealing with government on a face-to-face basis.