Form revised April 10, 2006

FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS

Department:	Contact Person/Phone:	DOF Analyst/Phone:
Seattle Department of Transportation	Mike Estey/684-8132	Jennifer Devore, 615-1328

Legislation Title:

AN ORDINANCE related to the Traffic Code, amending Sections 11.14.277, 11.72.075, 11.72.260, 11.72.300, 11.72.357, 11.72.435, 11.74.020, 11.76.015, and 11.76.020 of the Seattle Municipal Code to provide consistency throughout the Traffic Code about "parking holidays," days on which payment at parking meters and pay stations is not required and on which most signed, time-limited parking is not enforced.

· Summary of the Legislation:

This legislation would provide consistency throughout the Traffic Code about "parking holidays," days on which payment at parking meters and pay stations is not required and on which most signed, time-limited parking is not enforced.  The proposed legislation would revise the definition of "holidays" within the Traffic portion of the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC).  When installing signs and other devices indicating paid and time-limited parking, the Seattle Department of Transportation will ensure current operations and practices are consistent with these proposed definitions.  The Seattle Police Department will also do the same regarding how these holidays are enforced for purposes of traffic and parking.

· Background: (Include brief description of the purpose and context of legislation and include record of previous legislation and funding history, if applicable):

The current Code identifies a number of specific legal holidays for transportation, traffic, and parking purposes.  The proposed legislation would clarify how those holidays are treated throughout the Traffic Code.  With the exception of the day after Thanksgiving Day, all specific holidays currently referenced shall be the ones observed (i.e., New Year’s Day, Presidents Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day).  Because of its importance to the retail community, the day after Thanksgiving Day shall not be an observed parking holiday to ensure parking turnover for businesses and their customers. 

According to the current Traffic Code, if a holiday should fall on a Saturday (New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day, or Christmas Day) the preceding Friday shall be the observed holiday.  This practice has caused some confusion among the City’s operational and enforcement staff, as well as the public, especially in time-restricted areas with “except Sundays and holidays” exceptions.  Under the prior Code language, it is conceivable that parking restrictions would not be enforced on Friday, July 3, but would be on Saturday, July 4.  To avoid this confusion, this legislation proposes striking this language.  If a holiday falls on a Saturday, that would be the holiday for purposes of parking payment, time limits, and enforcement.  In that case, Friday would not be a parking holiday. 

The legislation does not propose similar changes related to holidays which fall on a Sunday – when that occurs, the following Monday would be a parking holiday (in addition to Sunday, as all Sundays are parking holidays.)  This will have a very limited impact on revenue from paid parking, as meters and pay stations did not previously allow for free parking in such circumstances (there will be one holiday on a Sunday in 2007, and then not another until 2010 – with an estimated impact to the General Fund of $45,000 in foregone revenues for that 2007 Monday after Veterans Day.)

To ensure consistency with the proposed changes, SDOT will install new graphics on all paid parking devices (pay stations and parking meters) to clarify which days do not require payment consistent with the revised Code.  The estimated cost of these changes is approximately $10,000 plus labor time for crews to do the installation.  SDOT also proposes to proactively inform the community via the media about which days require payment and adherence to parking restrictions and regulations, and which days are parking holidays.

The legislation also contains housecleaning edits to language throughout the Traffic Code which refers to holidays, to ensure consistency throughout the Code.

· Please check one of the following:

____ This legislation does not have any financial implications. (Stop here and delete the remainder of this document prior to saving and printing.)

__X__ This legislation has financial implications. (Please complete all relevant sections that follow.)

Appropriations:  This table should reflect appropriations that are a direct result of this legislation.  In the event that the project/ programs associated with this ordinance have appropriations that were, or will be, received because of previous or future legislation or budget actions, please provide details in the Notes section below.

Fund Name and Number	Department	Budget Control Level*	2006 Appropriation	2007 Anticipated Appropriation
TOTAL

*See budget book to obtain the appropriate Budget Control Level for your department.

Notes: 

Anticipated Revenue/Reimbursement: Resulting From This Legislation: This table should reflect revenues/reimbursements that are a direct result of this legislation.  In the event that the issues/projects associated with this ordinance/resolution have revenues or reimbursements that were, or will be, received because of previous or future legislation or budget actions, please provide details in the Notes section below the table.

Fund Name and Number	Department	Revenue Source	2006 Revenue	2007 Revenue
General  Fund	Seattle Department of Transportation	Parking Meter and Pay Station revenues		($45,000)
TOTAL				($45,000)

Notes:  The $45,000 represents the foregone meter and pay station revenues which otherwise would have been collected Monday, November 12, 2007, the observed holiday the day after Veterans Day.

Total Regular Positions Created Or Abrogated Through This Legislation, Including FTE Impact:  This table should only reflect the actual number of positions created by this legislation  In the event that positions have been, or will be, created as a result of previous or future legislation or budget actions, please provide details in the Notes section below the table.

Position Title and Department*		Fund Name	Fund Number	Part-Time/ Full Time	2006 Positions	2006 FTE	2007 Positions**	2007 FTE**
	N/A
	TOTAL

*   List each position separately

** 2007 positions and FTE are total 2007 position changes resulting from this legislation, not incremental changes.  Therefore, under 2007, please be sure to include any continuing positions from 2006

Notes:

· Do positions sunset in the future?  (If yes, identify sunset date):

Spending/Cash Flow: This table should be completed only in those cases where part or all of the funds authorized by this legislation will be spent in a different year than when they were appropriated (e.g., as in the case of certain grants and capital projects).  Details surrounding spending that will occur in future years should be provided in the Notes section below the table.

Fund Name and Number	Department	Budget Control Level*	2006 Expenditures	2007 Anticipated Expenditures
N/A
TOTAL

* See budget book to obtain the appropriate Budget Control Level for your department.

Notes:

· What is the financial cost of not implementing the legislation? (Estimate the costs to the City of not implementing the legislation, including estimated costs to maintain or expand an existing facility or the cost avoidance due to replacement of an existing facility, potential conflicts with regulatory requirements, or other potential costs if the legislation is not implemented.)

If this legislation is not implemented, the City is at some risk of future claims and lawsuits related to citizens who pay to park, or who park in time-limited spaces and receive citations or are towed, on or near holidays which fall on a Saturday or Sunday.

· What are the possible alternatives to the legislation that could achieve the same or similar objectives? (Include any potential alternatives to the proposed legislation, such as reducing fee-supported activities, identifying outside funding sources for fee-supported activities, etc.)  There are none.

· Is the legislation subject to public hearing requirements:  (If yes, what public hearings have been held to date, and/or what plans are in place to hold a public hearing(s) in the future.)  No.

· Other Issues (including long-term implications of the legislation):  None.

Please list attachments to the fiscal note below: