The price of a Cambridge residential parking permit is about to triple to $75 from $25. Senior permits will no longer be free. The exception is that there is no fee for anyone who declares themselves low-income by checking a box on the permit application; no proof of income is required.
For most car owners, this is the most expensive street parking permit in Massachusetts. Somerville is the next most expensive at $50, though seniors there are charged nothing for a permit.
Comparing Cambridge’s new fees to other cities and towns within Route 128 with a street parking program shows the average price charged to car owners is $11, and the median price charged is $10. Boston, Beverly, Everett, Quincy and Revere issue permits without charge to residents regardless of age or income.
Asked why Boston didn’t charge for permits, councilors Bill Linehan and Michael Flaherty say the fees unfairly punish middle-class families and multivehicle households who need cars for their daily routines.
Cambridge car owners are asking why the price is jumping. The city says the permit program was operating at a $2 million deficit, with system administration costing roughly $3 million and permit collection only bringing in about $1 million.
It must be pointed out that $3 million is a lot of money to basically make a sticker. A $3 million permit program deserves a transparent cost breakdown and an explanation of what could be automated, simplified or outsourced, which could answer how much of this is about revenue versus the city’s push to get residents to stop using cars.
Some councillors have questioned why residents without cars should subsidize the $3 million program. Ignored is the fact that cars generate significant income for the city in the form of taxes, fees and fines from car owners that could be used to help pay for the program. For example, in the projected budget for the 2026 fiscal year, the city collects $7.9 million in motor vehicle excise taxes, $4.2 million in parking meter collections and $9.4 million in motor vehicle parking fines – in sum, more than $20 million is paid by owners of motor vehicles.
The excise tax goes into the general fund, while parking-related revenues flows through the parking fund. The City Council should explain whether more of these existing vehicle-related revenues could support the permit system rather than putting the full burden on the annual permit fee.
Councillor E. Denise Simmons argued that keeping permits free for seniors would cost the city from $185,000 to $300,000, which she said is a “relatively modest fiscal impact in exchange for preserving meaningful relief for older residents.” The city doesn’t ask seniors if they are low-income for discounts for water bill discounts, or for access to free programs at senior centers, a taxi discount program, Senior Center lunches, etc.
There is also much controversy over the low-income self-certification, which is an avenue for fraud and abuse.
The city should look at more cost-effective ways to operate the permit program, including moving the entire process online and using existing online databases to verify residency or outsource the process.
The city must also find a fair and equitable way of dividing program cost burden. One alternative would be to use a sliding permit fee scale based on the vehicle’s assessed valuation for excise taxes, similar how property valuation is used to compute property taxes. Owners of vehicles valued under $5,000 pay a nominal fee of less than $12.50; owners of cars valued at $70,000 pay $175; for luxury car valued at $100,000, owners pay $250. The city already has the vehicle valuation database, and it would be straightforward to design an algorithm to compute a fee similar to the method used for property taxes.
The city should carefully examine using car-generated revenue to subsidize fees, review the existing program for cost reductions and devise a fairer and more equable way of determining permit fees. The answer my lie in combining all these efforts. Yes, its complicated and a lot of work, but so is fairness and equity.
However you slice it, Cambridge vehicle owners, especially seniors, get the worst deal in the commonwealth when it comes to parking permits. Many residents believe the new fees are indicative of the disdain the city has for car owner and seniors. Maybe the answer is a competitive compromise that follows Somerville’s lead: a permit cost of $50 and seniors park free.
