The city is moving forward with its plans to dissolve its parking authority and replace it with a part-time manager, even after receiving a legal opinion from its solicitor saying the move is not mandatory.

City council Thursday night voted 3-1 to approve termination of the parking authority and directed the authority to file the necessary documents with the state.

Council originally stated the move was dictated by a bond rating the city received to get a $6.8 million bond issue to pay for its new parking garage on South McKean Street.

However, solicitor Jim Coulter said he reviewed the bond documents and said there is not a requirement to dissolve the authority.

“I would not interpret it as a legal mandate,” Coulter said.

Mayor Tom Donaldson told the parking authority Wednesday night the city has been interpreting the bond rating to require the disbanding of the authority.

The authority’s board split a vote 2-2 to authorize the termination. The motion failed, but Donaldson said he would replace the two board members who voted against it, a move he said he is able to make as mayor.

The bond rating, done by Standard and Poor’s Rating Services of New York, does say the city’s financial situation would improve by taking over the authority’s assets.

The city had “very strong” liquidity due to the cash available from the parking authority, according to a copy of the rating analysis.

The rating said that “without access to the unrestricted cash from the parking authority funds, the city’s cash reserve is what we consider nominally low at only $445,000.”

However, the rating states the parking authority funding can be used for general fund operations with board approval, adding the unrestricted funds from the parking authority have averaged about $700,000.

The rating also says “It is our understanding that the authority will be fully dissolved with the completed sale of the bond proceeds,” which Donaldson said led the city to interpret it as a requirement for the rating it received.

While the bond rating firm was under the impression the authority would dissolve, it was the city that led them to believe that would be the case.

Councilman Cheri Readie said the idea came from initial discussions a previous council had with banks about a bond issue to pay for the garage, which will join a new hotel downtown as part of the Centre City project.

Opposition to the move

Councilman Bill May voted Thursday against the motion to dissolve the authority, saying it led the way for the city to spend parking money on other projects in the future.

The city will have a separate budget for parking totaling about $500,000. However, there are no protections that would prevent future councils from using that money to pay for other city needs, May said.

“This is a temporary fix for the city,” May said. “I think of it as knowing someone who maxed out their credit card, so you give them a new credit card to help the financial situation.”

May said he did not oppose the idea of a part-time parking manager, but said the authority should remain in place to prevent the city from having unrestricted access to money he said should only be used for parking improvements.

Former Butler treasurer Ralph D’Antonio also spoke in opposition to the move.

D’Antonio said the city had recently extended a 50-year relationship with the authority and questioned why a part-time manager would replace the authority.

D’Antonio said the city treasurer handled the majority of the work done by the authority.

“I’m puzzled why you’re going to appoint a (manager) position that will earn more money than the mayor, treasurer and half of council combined,” he said.

Donaldson had initially proposed the manager’s salary be set at $35,000 and be included in the city’s employee wage ordinance for 2016. However, council decided to further explore the salary and job description after some felt it was too high.

May also was critical of the mayor’s decision to replace the two parking authority members who disagreed with him.

“I do not think that is good public relations for our city,” he said, adding his brother, Tom May, was one of the members Donaldson said he would replace. “My brother has served 10 years on that board, and I don’t think it’s a proper way to handle that — to remove those who disagree with you.”

Preparing for the future

Donaldson as well as council members Richard Schontz and Readie each voted to disband the authority, arguing the move will streamline management duties.

Schontz said he has been in favor of dissolving the authority whether the move was a requirement of the bond issue or not.

Schontz said the city’s parking is continuing to grow and becoming more complex and will need a qualified manager attending to day-to-day operations in the future.

“This will bring everything together under the city’s umbrella,” he said. “We’re attempting to move the city forward.”

Currently, the authority manages most of the parking lots and the tier garage on Cunningham Street, while the city manages a few lots and street parking.

Donaldson said the city will be moving toward a more technology-based parking system that will include automated lots and kiosks on the streets.

He said the city hopes to consolidate all parking management as well as enforcement under one manager who can attend to daily needs.

“A volunteer board isn’t going to be there day after day,” he said.

While a salary has not been determined for the parking manager position, Donaldson maintained his initial proposal was fair.

The mayor said he consulted with other municipalities with a parking manager to get a comparison of wages. He said State College in Centre County pays more than $63,000 for its full-time parking manager, while New Castle pays $61,000 annually. Bradford in McKean County, which has about 8,600 residents, pays $25,000 for its part-time manager, Donaldson said.

“I wasn’t too far off,” Donaldson said.

A job description for the position still is being developed.

The parking authority will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday and likely will re-vote on the disbanding. The mayor said the authority’s approval is not needed to dissolve it, but said it makes the process easier.