The town of Wrightsville Beach is changing its agreement with its paid parking contractor after complaints that the company had a financial interest in handing out citations.
At a meeting on Sept. 8, the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen approved an amendment to the town’s contract with Pivot Parking, reducing the fee that the town pays and putting a cap on the company’s profits. Town staff recommended the change to “address complaints/perceptions that Pivot Parking is incentivized to issue parking citations,” according to the meeting agenda.
“Staff is not concerned that this will disincentivize parking ambassadors from issuing citations, but we do believe it can help address the perception that Pivot Parking issues citations to collect more
revenue for itself,” the agenda item states.
The town ended the past fiscal year with a gross parking revenue of $8.17 million. Citations generated $671,000. Pivot’s operating cost was $658,457 and its management fee totaled $134,795.
The modifications account for the growing revenues by reducing the management fee percentage from 2.85% to 2.45%. Citation revenue will be eliminated from the management fee calculation.
Additionally, the agreement will put a cap on Pivot’s earnings. Currently, the company’s management fee is calculated and applied to any revenue over $3,425,000. Going forward, the management fee will only apply to revenue between $3,425,000 and $8.1 million.
The changes are expected to save the town $40,000 annually, Town Manager Haynes Brigman said. Pivot’s management fee will max out around $115,000.
“In talking with our local Pivot ambassadors, they didn’t even realize that this was part of the calculation that went into the management fee,” Brigman said. “They’re just out there doing their job.”
While the agreement reduces Pivot’s earnings, it further cements its status as Wrightsville Beach’s chosen paid parking contractor. The town agreed to renew its contract for two years, with an additional automatic one-year renewal if desired by both parties.
Brigman noted that the infrastructure systems put in place by Pivot provide benefits that supersede what the town could gain by opening the program to bids each year. Namely, the company has provided a variety of technological improvements including a Text2Park platform, increased license plate reader enforcement and the PivotGo system, which allows drivers to check parking space availability and navigate from their phone.
Wrightsville Beach’s paid parking program is in effect daily from March 1 through Oct. 31. Rates vary depending on location, but hourly visits start at $5 with daily passes starting at $25.
Daniel Sheehan covers New Hanover County for the StarNews. Reach him at dsheehan@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wrightsville Beach amends parking contract after complaints
