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Keep the meters in place

Lisbon is one of the last municipalities in Columbiana County that uses parking meters, but now the Lisbon Area Chamber of Commerce is asking village council to eliminate them.

Chamber members feel the parking meters are deterring people from shopping in downtown Lisbon and several business owners cited instances of paying patrons’ parking tickets for them just to retain their business.

Instead of meters, chamber members have suggested that downtown spots have a two-hour parking limit that would be enforced by chalking vehicles’ tires and fining violators.

Village officials, however, believe that if the meters were removed, the parking spots would be occupied by courthouse employees and people conducting business at the courthouse, not by business patrons, and they’re probably right. The businesses would not benefit and the village will lose an estimated $30,000 per year generated by the meters and fines.

About half the parking meter revenue pays the salaries and benefits of the two part-time parking attendants, with the rest used to help purchase new police vehicles. That may not seem like a lot of money, but it is for a small town with limited resources and experiencing little or no growth from the village income tax, which is Lisbon’s chief source of general operating funding.

Police Chief Mike Abraham doubts the fine money generated from chalking tires would be enough to pay the attendants and he doesn’t intend to use his officers for parking enforcement. We agree that this would not be an efficient use of an officer’s time, but without someone to enforce the parking limit, the village would be back at square one. Spots would be occupied by all-day parkers and the village would be losing parking meter revenue.

The cost are minimal, with 25 cents buying motorists an hour and 50 cents two hours. Until another revenue stream is established to generate funds for parking limit enforcement, we think the meters should stay put.

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