Since 1991, there has been a law in the Hoboken that allows for the city to charge a 15 percent tax on most city parking operators, but according city officials, collection of that tax in the past has been haphazard and extremely inefficient.
In an attempt to enforce the law and create revenue, the city is instituting a new enforcement policy with the goal of having everyone who is required to pay to follow through.
“In the past, the city has not been aggressive in the enforcement of the ordinance or in the collection of the parking tax,” said city CFO Michael Lenz Tuesday. “We haven’t gone after people that haven’t paid – that is going to change.”
Lenz said that last year, the city collected approximately $500,000 without assertively trying to collect the tax. This year he expects that number to rise dramatically, but said that it is impossible to know exactly how much until City Hall has an accurate assessment of how many parking facilities and spaces there are in the mile-square city.
“Right now we don’t know what’s out there,” Lenz said. “We don’t have all the facts.”
According to Lenz, the city is in the process of sending employees around the city to take a parking inventory of all of the lots in the city.
Lenz has also created the “Hoboken 2003 Parking Compliance Packet,” an informational booklet that is being distributed to all persons or organizations providing parking services. The packet has all the forms required to comply with the Hoboken Parking Tax Ordinance, and to apply for a parking facility license, as well as a “frequently-asked questions” section that outlines exactly who is responsible for paying the tax. .
According to city law, all city parking lots must be registered and purchase a $150 license. The application for the Parking Facility License is required before commencing operations for that year. For those who do not pay their parking tax, the city will start enforcing a 12 percent-per-year penalty on the lot or garage operator.
As an incentive for everyone to pay up, the city is waving the penalty to those who haven’t paid their parking tax in 2002, as long as they pay it by Feb. 18. For those who do not pay before Feb. 18, Lenz said, the city will actively use legal means, such as a summons, to collect the tax and penalties.
For more information on the Hoboken Parking Tax or a parking license, call the city clerk’s office in City Hall at (201) 420-2071, or the zoning office at (201) 420-2063.