A year into Medford's pay-to-park program, the Medford Transcript examines the program's revenue shortfall and continued changes.

Medford’s pay-to-park program brought in significantly less revenue than expected during its first year while frustrating a city accustomed to limited and at times, nonexistent, parking enforcement.

Based on lower than expected revenue and ongoing issues with kiosks and other aspects of the program, more changes are in store throughout 2016 as Medford and vendor Republic Parking move into a second year.

Republic estimates that since January 2015, when nearly 100 parking kiosks and meters were installed throughout the city’s five business districts, through today, the program generated just more than $1 million in revenue from kiosk and meter payments, permits and citation fees.

Of that revenue, Medford will receive only about $30,000, as the city’s contract with Republic stipulates it receives 73 percent of gross revenue generated after the first $975,000 for the first year.

The city will also receive up to $230,000 in fines that are still owed, in addition to monthly rental payments from Republic of $25,000, for a total of up to $560,000.

The city had expected to generate $18 million over 10 years through the program, or $1.8 million annually.

“It was definitely lower than what we originally targeted for the first year,” said Daniel Nash, district manager for Republic Parking, which estimated earning $2 million per year in Medford.

Former Mayor Michael J. McGlynn implemented the program during his final year in office after signing a 10-year contract with Republic in October 2014.

The program faced resistance before the contract was even signed, with a dozen business owners showing up to a Medford City Council meeting to protest the pending contract after learning about the meeting last minute through the Medford Chamber of Commerce.

The city then stumbled while implementing the program in January 2015, sending a series of conflicting messages that led to confusion about the date on which the new kiosks and meters would “go live.”

Weeks after the program launched, Medford and surrounding communities were hit with the first of several massive snowstorms, which added up to the snowiest winter on record.

“The snow last year definitely impacted the program right out of the gate,” Nash said. “Any time you go from a nonpaid program to a paid program, it creates challenges. It was definitely a little rough, especially in the beginning.”

Other reasons for the lower than expected revenues included the start of the Cradock Bridge reconstruction project, which Nash said eliminated a handful of kiosks in Medford Square; and constant changes to the program in its first few months, including revised time limits, updated signage and other adjustments.

“It’s not surprising considering the number of changes that were made to the program after it was implemented,” said Mayor Stephanie Muccini Burke. “But I think [Republic is] definitely getting more efficient, and there’s certain expectations about the enforcement process. But it was never meant to be a revenue enhancer. It was to be a turnover enhancer for our squares, for the people who are visiting.”

After signing a 10-year contract for the program, McGlynn said $250,000 of the city’s annual revenue would be used for improvements in business districts.

Given the low revenue totals from year one, will the city follow through?

“The prior mayor made a commitment to that,” Burke said. “When we initially rolled it out, my interpretation was that that would be above and beyond the fixed amount that we collected.

“I certainly think that the districts need enhancements,” Burke continued. “So we’ll be working with them to determine what types of monies that they need going forward.”

Business feedback

Business owners feared the program would turn customers away from the city’s main shopping areas, outweighing the program’s objective: improving turnover of parking spaces outside stores.

One year in, the feedback is mixed.

“We’ve been hearing both ways,” said Charlotte Scuderi, president of the Chamber of Commerce. “Some of the merchants are happy that there are parking spaces. But some of the people working in the Square are having a difficult time. A person I know has chalked up $200 in tickets.”

Nash said he is able to drive through Medford’s squares easier now compared to before the program’s start.

“You hear mixed results,” he said, of business owners. “I know a couple people that were very anti-the program in West Medford Square that since have said they’ve had some of the best months [ever]. But there are people that will never like the program.”

Scuderi said some complaints have been linked to the kiosks themselves.

“A lot of the kiosks at times are really not working properly,” she said. “You can’t see them because of the sun. Or the money doesn’t go in no matter how many times you try. So there are problems.”

Scuderi said installing additional meters — or replacing kiosks with meters altogether — would improve the program for many parkers, especially elderly visitors.

“I would love to see parking meters where you can put money in,” she said. “I think that’s the biggest objection. If you could feed the meter, you’d probably be better off.”

Eliminating the kiosks is not an option under consideration by the city, which would owe Republic between $800,000 to $1 million to remove the kiosks.

Currently, there are 82 kiosks and 12 meters throughout the city.

With the kiosks, Scuderi said she also wishes visitors could add time to their space beyond the 2- or 3-hour limit without having to move spots.

“I think that’s one of the biggest issues, is not being able to add time,” she said. “If you could put money in to re-up the time where you are, I think that would take away a lot of the sting.”

The first year

Nash and Burke are expected to meet Jan. 29 to evaluate the program’s first year and discuss potential improvements, which might include offering a preloadable parking card.

“One of the things that could be an immediate change is the Park Medford card,” Burke said, “so that people could have the ability to put money on quickly, like a Charlie Card.”

Burke said the city would audit the year-one reports it receives from Republic, in addition to auditing all kiosks to determine their working condition.

The new mayor said the city is also considering multiple improvements that she outlined during her mayoral campaign, including:

— Reintroducing the “ambassador program,” where Republic employees assist customers in using the kiosks and mobile app;

— Creating a YouTube video on how to use the kiosks and mobile app;

— Setting up accounts for business owners that would allow them to add time to a patron’s parking space if he or she is delayed at the business.

Nash, meanwhile, said he would discuss with Burke whether the company should be more aggressive in writing citations and pursuing unpaid fines.

“We tried to be as friendly as we possibly could,” he said. “We’re writing a ticket when somebody walks up, we stopped writing the ticket.”

Nash said he would recommend to Burke that Republic and the city send a survey to business owners to solicit feedback from the program’s first year.

Enlisting the help of business owners in shaping the program’s future figures to be an important step for the city, which drew intense criticism for launching the program with limited public input.

“I’d love to see a meeting with the chamber, the mayor and the businesses to talk about what works,” Scuderi said. “I know there’s a way it will work. I just think it will be making changes to make the program better.”

Future revenue

During years two through seven of the 10-year contract, Medford will receive:

— 35 percent of actual gross revenue from the program;

— 83 percent of gross revenue generated after the first $1,350,000.

The same formula would determine the city’s revenue in years eight through 10 if it exercises an option in the contract for three additional years.

“We know year two [revenues] are going to be higher,” said Nash, adding Republic expects its collection rate of fines to increase from 67 percent in year one to about 80 percent this year, based on the company’s data from other cities.

— Next week, the Transcript talks to business owners for and against Pay-to-Park to see how they’re faring a year into the program.