Mayor David Briley is "hitting the pause button" on Nashville's $325 million private parking deal.

Residents need more time, Briley said in statement Friday, adding it was unfair to the public and Metro Council to rush through a process that would have a private company take over the city's on-street parking management.

"... it is clear to me that residents still have questions about the merits of this proposal ... Worse yet, others are using misinformation to further confuse and scare people. It’s politics at its worst," Briley said.

But to be sure, the deal will be back after the upcoming mayoral election and considered by Metro Council in a "comprehensive discussion."

"We have time to keep talking, and we should take it," Briley said in his statement. "Let's get past the noise of the election season and allow everyone to get their questions answered."

Briley faces three major challengers — state Rep. John Ray Clemmons, Metro Councilman John Cooper and former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain — in the Aug. 1 race.

Critics of Metro's parking proposal — which would allow a private company to issue tickets, collect fines and issue permits on behalf of the city — said the city should not make "one-time sales" to fit a budget hole.

But city officials say the deal is not a sale but a partnership that would result in more than $325 million for Nashville over a 30-year contract.

In April, Briley's administration notified LAZ Parking Georgia, LLC, that it planned to provide the company with a contract to manage parking spaces in the city.A judge ordered a stop to contract talks after a rival company, NTN+, argued that Metro officials violated procurement rules when it was disqualified from the solicitation.

The Metro procurement board held a full appeals hearing, but determined officials were right to not consider the NTN+ proposal because they were missing required documents on pricing.

The special Traffic and Parking Commission meeting scheduled for Monday as the first public discussion on the parking deal was canceled Friday following Briley's decision to defer.

Rob Maroney, the vice president of government services for LAZ Parking, said the group looks forward to having "more time with Metro to educate the public on the many benefits of parking modernization" and will host and attend more public meetings.

"Over the past decade, many American cities have modernized on-street parking in their urban cores with app-based technology that helps citizens access more affordable, convenient short-term parking," Maroney said in a statement. "Deployment of smart technology enhances mobility, relieves congestion and provides a big benefit to residents and businesses within dense commercial districts."

What's in the deal?

The Tennessean first reported on outsourcing parking last year when Briley floated the idea for a private takeover.

Briley proposed a "status quo" $2.23 billion operating budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year — just a $22 million increase over the prior year. Navigating a budget shortfall, the mayor's administration banked on generating $38 million in new revenue.

Briley hoped to secure a deal this current fiscal year to fill $15 million of that budget hole. But with delays, officials instead said the money would come from the city’s fund balance that closed "higher than expected" this year.

Then, next fiscal year, when the parking deal is completed and the city gets a $34 million upfront payment, the city will put the money toward debt services.

Aside from the upfront payment, the city said the parking privatization deal would bring in:

$72 million: The aggregate of the annually guaranteed payments, including inflation, beginning in the third year.

$214.4 million: Total revenue share.

$4.6 million: Excess revenue that will be placed in a reserve account until end of contract.

LAZ Parking will be paying for all capital and operating costs related to parking meters, according to the proposal.

Benefits of the plan include faster and easier paying for parking using credit cards or mobile apps, which will also help drivers find open parking spaces.

Drawbacks include fewer free on-street parking spots and higher prices.

Under the proposed policy:

Enforcement hours would extend from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Sundays would no longer be free.

Meter prices would go up by 25 cents.

Fines would rise from $11 to $25.

The city will find an additional 500 spots a year for at least four years — doubling the some 2,000 spaces it currently has. They are slated to pop up in the Gulch, West End, SoBro and downtown.

What the mayoral candidates say

Critics and Briley's electoral challengers have claimed the deal would mean parking meters showing up in residential neighborhoods, which the administration and LAZ has pushed back on as false.

Nonetheless, many have argued the deal was "half-baked" and asked for more transparency in the process.

In response to Briley's announcement Friday, candidates are saying a pause is not enough.

"Glad to see Mayor Briley is taking our advice and not moving forward with his loan shark scheme to sell our parking meters for fast cash," Swain's campaign tweeted. "Don't press 'pause.' Press 'delete!'"

Waiting for after the election, Swain said, means the administration and Metro Council "don't have to respect the wishes of voters who overwhelmingly oppose this bad idea."

Cooper said the parking deal "lacked transparency and detail."

"It’s incredible that it’s taken a year for Mayor Briley to realize that people don’t want his parking modernization plan," he posted on Twitter. "The transparency of the deal was always inadequate. His determination to bring it back up if he’s re-elected is a mistake.

Clemmons said his campaign has opposed the parking deal from the start.

"Nashville cannot continue to suffer from the same old short-sighted decision making," he said on Twitter.

Clemmons previously called the parking plan a "raw deal" for the city that will "only hurt our families and neighborhoods in the long term."

Reach Andrew Wigdor at awigdor@tennessean.com and on Twitter @andrew_wigdor.

Yihyun Jeong covers politics in Nashville for USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE. Reach her at yjeong@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @yihyun_jeong.