9-Nov-17 – The company that has the parking meter contract in Chicago will get an extra $20 million next year. It is compensation for lost revenue due to parking spaces taken out of service for construction, filming, special events, security, street maintenance, or to reserve a spot for the disabled.

That is on top of meter revenue that will be collected. It is a provision in the 2008 contract with Chicago Parking Meters, LLC, a deal the city is stuck with until 2083.

The $20 million is 16 percent more than the amount paid in 2017, according to the Office of Budget and Management. So far, the provision has cost Chicago more than $100 million.

Private businesses that take spaces out of service – such as construction companies, film production companies, and music festival hosts – help with the expense, reducing the cost to taxpayers so far this year by about $3.6 million.

The city raised about $1.15 billion by selling its parking meters but the money was spent on gaps in the city budget. The deal has not been bad for CPM. They are expected to make back their investment by 2020.