Athens, Ga. — Campus parking fees for University of Georgia faculty, staff and students will increase in the coming academic year – the first increase since the current rate structure was adopted six years ago. The increase is ten dollars per month for a zone permit and two dollars per day for deck parking, effective Aug. 1.
“UGA Parking Services has been absorbing the debt service on new decks as they have been added to replace surface parking lost due to construction of new academic, research, housing and other student service facilities. An increase in user fees is necessary to maintain a sound financial footing,” said George Stafford, associate vice president for finance and administration. Parking services is projecting an annual operating loss in the current fiscal year and would project a similar situation for fiscal year 2009 without the proposed increase, Stafford said.
UGA parking zones are priced based on their proximity to the central campus. A yellow zone permit, which has been $10 per month since FY 2003, will be $20 under the new rate structure. A blue zone permit moves from the current $20 to a new monthly rate of $30; red zone goes from $30 to $40 per month; and reserved and multi-access permits increase from $50 to a new rate of $60 per month. The hourly deck parking schedule for vehicles without monthly permits will increase by $2 per day.
“Parking Services is a self-supporting auxiliary service of the university,” said Tim Burgess, senior vice president for finance and administration. “We get no state funding and must dedicate more than 60 percent of our annual budget to debt service and maintenance reserves. The remainder is our operating budget and personnel costs.” With this increase, it will be at least another three years before the next increase is required, Burgess said. He noted that the new rates are competitive with those charged by municipal lots and those at peer universities.
Current ongoing expenses include debt service and maintenance reserves on the East Village, Hull Street and Tate Center parking decks, debt on a portion of East Village Commons where the parking service offices are housed, and a lease for surface lots along Oconee Street, all of which have been assumed since the last parking rate increase. Other facilities on which debt service also is being paid include the North Campus, West Campus, and Carlton Street parking decks. Construction of additional parking capacity in the East Campus area is being planned.
