Parking in Butler may soon be managed through a smartphone.

The city parking authority listened to a proposal at its meeting Wednesday night that would allow residents to pay for parking through a phone app.

Joe Habib, a sales director with Pango Mobile Parking based in New York, made the nearly hourlong pitch to the authority.

The parking meters would stay and continue to accept coins, but drivers looking to use any of the 1,132 metered spaces in the city also would be able to pay using their phone.

Drivers would be billed for this service.

Drivers would need to have an account with the city through Pango’s service, and have the company’s app downloaded to their phones.

Drivers would load the app, select the zone they want to park in, and hit start.

The zones on the app would likely be separated based on the different lots and the tier garage.

Drivers without smartphones could use the system by dialing a number and using voice commands.

“This is the future,” Habib said. “Everything is done through smartphones and tablets. It’s just an easy way for consumers to pay for parking.”

By pushing the start button, the driver’s previously registered license plate, linked to their account, would show up as a paid parker on the city’s system.

The meter monitors would check vehicles registered by their license plate numbers, which would be alphabetically displayed on an app of their own.

The meter monitors would use an iPad device, provided free by Pango, to access their app.

If a meter monitor sees a license plate in a space not on the system, it would indicate the driver either has not paid or has exceeded the time allotment, and a ticket would be issued.

Drivers would receive an alert on their phones when their time runs out and would have the option to add more by phone.

Monthly permit parking also would be run through Pango’s system.

Instead of going to the treasurer’s office at the beginning of the month to get a paper pass, residents would register for a permit through the app or a computer with their credit card.

Once registered for a permit, the driver’s license plate number would automatically show up as a paying customer in the lot or garage selected.

Jeff Smith, treasurer for the city and the parking authority, said residents who do not have access to a computer would be able to go to the treasurer’s office to register there.

Smith presented the idea of the service to the authority.

Mayor Tom Donaldson and city council members Kathy Kline and Cheri Scott attended the meeting.

While the parking authority manages most public parking lots in Butler, the city controls a few of its own lots and street parking.

Donaldson said the city would follow the authority’s lead should it explore the service.

“We have a vested, joint interest,” Donaldson said.

Each of the city’s representatives seemed impressed with the concept.

“It’s important Butler moves along with technology,” Scott said. “It’s worth exploring.”

Kline said she believes the service would catch on, particularly with younger drivers.

“This would be a real convenience for street parking,” she said. “You wouldn’t have to worry about quarters.”

The service would come with no upfront cost to the authority or the city.

However, using the Pango service would add an additional fee for parkers.

Habib said the standard rate charged is an additional 10 cents per parking session.

“So a driver that would spend a dollar in quarters would pay $1.10,” Habib said. “A lot of people will like that more than carrying a pocket full of quarters.”

Drivers are typically billed either biweekly or monthly for the service, Habib said, although the company does offer prepaid options the authority could use.

Habib said the authority and the company would have to discuss how it would handle parking permits.

The authority would likely test the service for 60 days before making a final decision on using it.

Smith said the authority will discuss the option at next month’s meeting and will determine where to go from there.

“It’s something we could start using by the third quarter this year,” he said.

Pango uses its service in eight cities in the U.S., including Scranton and Latrobe. The company was founded in Israel seven years ago and is a major provider in that country.

Habib said the company, which has been in the U.S. for more than a year, has its sights set on Pittsburgh and the surrounding region.