Salt Lake City Council backs off plan to reduce free parking

On second thought, getting rid of free downtown parking on Saturdays and evenings may not be such a good idea.

The Salt Lake City Council has come under fire from local business owners and those who frequent downtown since the city officers suggested last week that parking meters remain active and expirations be enforced after 6 p.m. weekdays and all day on Saturdays.

"We might as well have thrown a brick through a stained-glass window," said Carlton Christensen, council vice chairman.

"The feedback has been pretty harsh," added Councilman Soren Simonsen.

And it appears to have changed council members' minds. Despite the need to find additional revenue in the budget to offset rising fuel costs, the council is expected at its meeting Tuesday to rule out charging for evening and Saturday parking as an option.

"Frankly, our downtown needs all the support it can get from us because of the conditions of construction," Councilman Eric Jergensen said, referring mainly to the former ZCMI Center and Crossroads Mall sites where the LDS Church's City Creek Center project is being built.

"Significant amounts of parking have been taken away," Jergensen said. "We need to do all we can to support those folks who want to come into downtown and shop."

Charging for parking on Saturdays and evenings would have boosted revenues in the 2008-09 fiscal year budget by an estimated $300,000. It's unclear where the council will look next to realize those funds, but cuts to city services and programs will be necessary, council members said.

The council is running out of time to plug a nearly $1 million hole in the $209 million proposed general fund budget. The gap has been created by rising fuel costs and the council's desire to maintain fire operations at station No. 5. The council has just two public meetings — Tuesday and July 17 — before the budget must to be approved under state law.

"We're at a point now where we're going to have to make some very uncomfortable cuts of nonessential city services," said Councilman JT Martin. "Whatever we do, we're going to upset somebody."

Fuel-cost estimates in February when first-year Mayor Ralph Becker was putting together his proposed budget are no longer valid because of the sharp increase in the price of oil in recent months.

David Everitt, Becker's chief of staff, said Friday that the most recent calculations indicate the mayor's budget, as presented to the council on May 6, underestimate the cost of fuel by about $470,000.