The Great Falls City Commission approved an increase in parking fees and fines, at least temporarily, during a meeting Tuesday night.
City staff asked commissioners to act quickly to halt an underwater parking fund, which has been losing as much as $20,000 each month. The main decision Tuesday was whether the city should continue its parking management agreement with SP Plus, a company that provides personnel and parking enforcement. That contract is the biggest cost driver in the parking program.
Commissioners decided to keep the SP Plus contract in place and voted to pursue increased fines and fees to address the budget shortfall. The idea was pitched by city staff as a way to maintain predictability over the next several months as business and city leaders devise new parking program proposals.
“The status quo would remain with increased rates,” Great Falls City Manager Greg Doyon said at the meeting.
The plan backed by commissioners will increase metered street parking rates from $1 to $1.50 per hour. It will eliminate the free courtesy ticket for first offenders, replacing it with a $10 fine. Second-time violations will go from $5 to $20. Third-time violations will go from $10 to $40 and fourth and subsequent violations will go from $20 to $75.
The plan also eliminates the 15-minute courtesy parking program, which was funded by business owners to reserve a quick, free parking space in front of storefronts.
While facing an ailing budget, commissioners also voted to maintain free holiday parking this year from Dec. 15 through Dec. 28.
The votes on Tuesday were unanimous in approval, though Commissioner Shannon Wilson was absent. The votes didn’t finalize the fee and fine changes. The plan still requires two commission votes and a public hearing over two scheduled meetings. After that, it could still take a month to implement, according to Community Development Director Brock Cherry.
The city estimates that this plan would raise an additional $286,133 over a year, or just under $24,000 monthly. That could be enough to close the budget gap, though debt will continue to accumulate in the parking fund while the process to enact changes is underway.
The revenue estimates were based on current parking patterns and data. If the new fees deter downtown visitors to a large degree, the revenue mix from parking fees and violation fines could change. As Cherry put it, the “psychology of parking” is difficult to predict.
“The statistics are there,” said Kellie Pierce, director of the downtown business improvement district, during public comment at Tuesday’s meeting. “Increasing fees and fines are going to drive our patrons away. Everybody is feeling the pinch and pain of increased costs.”
The city’s parking program has struggled since 2020, when parking enforcement was suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic. An infusion of COVID relief funds from the CARES Act provided some stability, but that well ran dry by 2025, and the parking fund began running deeper deficits.
The city’s Parking Advisory Commission worked with city staff earlier this year on a proposal for tax increment financing money to help cover the SP Plus contract costs, but the legal department determined that personnel spending was ineligible. That led to Tuesday’s commission meeting, which was devoted to the parking issue. The increased fees and fines are intended to help reduce the deficit.
In a matter of months, the entire parking program will be up for revision, including the increased fee schedule. Tuesday’s commission vote included an April 30 deadline to receive parking program proposals for review. The motion, made by Commissioner Susan Wolff, called on downtown business owners, residents and the Parking Advisory Commission to develop plans.
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Increased rates and fines possible as Great Falls looks to stabilize ailing parking budget
While the parking system’s issues have been mounting for years, the Great Falls City Commission may take action soon, which could include raising hourly parking rates, increasing fines and shedding operations that heavily rely on personnel costs.
The commission had multiple program plans up for discussion Tuesday. The options included ending the SP Plus contract to cut costs and either running the program with city staff or pausing parking enforcement altogether. The options for keeping the SP Plus contract included multiple revenue projections for high increases in violation fines, hourly fees or both.
After the April 30 deadline, the commission could vote to keep that structure in place or create a whole new system.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Commissioner Joe McKenney presented another option that wasn’t on the list prepared by city staff. McKenney said he brought it up last weekend to a “downtown merchant” who was unsatisfied with the existing options.
That option would eliminate hourly parking fees and allow two hours of free parking for each space. Personnel would still need to enforce the time limit, and parking revenue could rely on violation fines and paid parking garage use. The option includes plans to sell city-owned surface parking property for development.
The scheme was viewed as friendlier to downtown businesses, according to McKenney, as price-sensitive patrons could avoid paying for quick downtown parking. The plan was in addition to the three options given by city staff. McKenney called it “option four.”
“We’re not going to approve option four today,” he said. “But let’s not forget about it.”
Bozeman has a similar setup that allows two hours of free parking in the downtown area.
Cherry said the option is on the table, but the challenge is avoiding the same situation the fund is in now.
“I do see promise in having a timed, two-hour enforcement program,” he said. “It’s just how do you fund it?”
Business owners who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting expressed more concerns about user experience. Inge Buchholz, a longtime clothing store owner, said that customers often complain about the location of the parking kiosks. She prefers the coin meters.
Alison Fried, owner of Dragonfly Dry Goods for 28 years, said her staff is also always fielding parking questions. She indicated that she would support the free, two-hour enforcement model.
She urged the commission to do something — preferably something else.
“If it’s not working right now, and we can’t manage it right now, then I think we have to start over,” Fried said. “Because we can’t keep throwing that same thing at the door and hope it works.”
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