How UAH Justifies Charging Almost 250% More for Parking
August 27, 2009 by Matt Sayar
“Fun Fact: Think parking and moving violations suck? They only pay for 7-8 percent of the budget.”
“Fun Fact: Decal prices were $15 only three years ago.”
As soon as UAH announced that decals, which are required on every motorized vehicle that parks on campus, would cost $120 for the ‘09-‘10 academic year, students began voicing their disapproval. The SGA called a meeting for students to pose pertinent questions to the administration about raising the price from last year’s $35.
On Aug. 6, 2009, Ray Pinner, VP of Finance; Mike Finnegan, Administrator of Facility Operations; and Chief Gailes stated the reasons for the price increase before fielding questions. The major reason behind the price hike is UAH’s inability to draw money from its general funds to subsidize the price students have to pay. As it stands, all the operational costs associated with transportation on campus break even after all the students, staff and faculty pay the full $120 for their decal.
The economy was also quickly blamed, as Huntsville is starting to feel the rest of the country’s economic troubles, especially when it comes to the budget cuts UAH is sharing with UA and UAB.
The increased operational costs are another reason. Maintenance is a big chunk of it, including the cost to maintain a street sweeper, power the lights, fix road defects, replace light bulbs, etc. Plans are also underway to add video surveillance to the parking lots, which adds to the budget as well as to students’ safety. Another small percentage goes toward adding laptops to patrol units’ vehicles, allowing them to file reports without being tied to a desk away from potential conflicts.
Despite UAH’s claims to the contrary in the press release, our parking prices are now among the highest in the state. Sister schools UA and UAB have varying prices for students to choose from, making it harder to draw a direct price comparison between the three. At the minimum, UAH students now pay more than every other school in the state besides UA and UAB.
The parking garage had little effect on the price increase, thanks to its being built largely with federal funds.
UAH license plates purchased for $50 at the Department of Motor Vehicles still contribute to scholarships, but no longer serve as substitutes for decals. Summer decals are now $40. New fines include $50 for parking violations, $75 for moving violations and $100 for handicapped parking violations. If you don’t plan on driving on campus and want your $120 back, fill out the credit affidavit included with the envelope to get a reimbursement.
Make sure you clean your bumper before you affix your decal. You wouldn’t want some dirt to make that little $120 sticker peel off.
Wonder how much of this is going to pay for Pinner’s salary increase.
this fair increase is absurd. we are not made of money. perhaps i will have to get some money from http://www.pokermoney.org to pay for all these new fees i can’t afford.
$120 is really not that bad. Look it up, most public universities around the US charge similar prices for students to park vehicles on campus. The university does have to pay to maintain and build parking lots, ensure security on campus parking lots, etc.
If students think $120 is ridiculous then they should either live on campus and walk/bike to class. If you are a commuter then that’s the price you pay to live more affordably off campus. Some students who live in big cities aren’t even given this right until they are upper classmen and then the price tag is truly pricy ($300-500 and up)!
$120 is a bit high but perhaps they are trying to recoup from the years of $15..do you really think they can build & maintain facilities and pay security staff, etc. on $15/person per year?
The problem with the price increase is that it’s just another deterrent for local prospective students to think of UAH as the “affordable” college. Every time someone says “most public universities around the US charge similar prices for X,” the more people will look to other public universities around the US.