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Mayor pitches benefits of Cincinnati parking lease

Sarah Ramsey

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory and other officials held a round table discussion with reporters Tuesday to talk about the benefits of the parking lease for the city.  

They talked about several things including rates, hours and enforcement.  But none of the information was new.  

Mallory was asked why he decided to hold the session now?  He says to get the facts out.

“Particularly when there’s so much misinformation out there about how this plan works,” Mallory said.  “So we can’t talk about the facts enough.”

He said since this is a city election year, some candidates are using misinformation to advance their campaigns.  

He also said residents should think carefully before signing a petition to change the city's charter.

“We’re going to end up like California here pretty soon as it relates to initiatives and referendums,” Mallory said.  “I’m a big believer that that power should exist.  But  in the last eight to ten years it has been abused.”

The parking lease is on hold because of a pending court case and a likely spot on the November ballot.  

Opponents fear the plan will lead to higher parking rates and more tickets.  City officials say rates are controlled and there's no incentive for the private operators to write additional tickets.

The city wanted revenue from the parking lease to stabilize the General Fund budget and to jumpstart several economic development projects to grow the city's tax-base.

Jay Hanselman brings more than 10 years experience as a news anchor and reporter to 91.7 WVXU. He came to WVXU from WNKU, where he hosted the local broadcast of All Things Considered. Hanselman has been recognized for his reporting by the Kentucky AP Broadcasters Association, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, and the Ohio AP Broadcasters.