An open letter to my Ward 3 representative, Christopher Taylor, and the other Ann Arbor City Council members regarding extended parking meter hours. NO, NO, NO. What is Sandi Smith thinking? One hundred percent of parking is used after 6 p.m. because folks are attending 2-4 hour venues between 6 and 10 p.m. that includes various entertainment events. Most of the stores are closed and the nightlife kicks in. All the high wage earners employed with city and county agencies are off work, leaving the minimum wage earners with affordable parking.

Who does Ms. Smith think she is to make it even more unaffordable for non-affluent folks to enjoy and work in downtown Ann Arbor? Tell her to give us a hand to dig up some "tax savings" instead of using it to dig into the pockets of the most financially vulnerable with such a regressive tax. I can just imagine the conversation leading up to such a preposterous proposal. "You know adding more parking meters is a pretty expensive and unpopular proposition. We don't even know if it will provide an adequate return on our investment with the added manpower necessary for its enforcement. The budget is pretty tight right now. What if we were to extend the hours of the existing parking meters? There's limited added cost burden, we could possibly double our revenues with aggressive enforcement, and if we act quickly, we can limit opposition”. This is one of those leadership tests Christopher. You need to put those law school persuasion skills in action on his one. This is a regressive tax affecting the low wage earners that serve your food and drinks. As they say, "you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you."

Frank G. Dalimonte Ann Arbor