Who, If Anyone, Is In Charge At City Hall?

As I reported on a month ago, another HPD Parking Enforcement Officer has decided to quit his position. Yesterday was Mike Markessinis's last day on the job, and as of today there are just two Parking Enforcement Officers employed by the city of Hudson.  Both of them are considered part-time employees, as is the norm, and both have been walking up and down Warren Street for many, many years.  One of the two remaining officers repairs the meters and empties them of quarters.  Normally, the city employs four officers, typically with two working each day.

As absurd as it seems, it is true -- 4 officers are, or have been, used to patrol the meters along just 5 blocks of Warren Street, some side streets and in 5 parking lots (3 of them small) for 6 days a week.  A management consultant (or parking consultant) would have a field day with that. 

I had a short conversation with Mike the other day while he was in uniform on Warren Street.  He expressed some frustration with the job he had held for several years, primarily that there was really no one in charge of the officers, that the position was part-time, that it paid just $16 and hour, and that the job came with no benefits.  He said just what I had concluded in my previous article:  That the job of parking enforcement is meant for retirees, and that this was no way to move forward if the city wants to continue the critical flow of parking ticket revenue. 

Mike told me that over the years he saw many problems and issues with the job and the process of ticketing parked cars but felt that no one would listen to him if he spoke up about anything anyway.  So, he kept his mouth shut and did his job until he had had enough. He thought it was really strange that the position vacated by the officer that left about 8 months ago had still not been filled and that no one mentioned to him what was going on with that long-vacant position.  Mike also said that the condition of most of the meters was a big problem and that it was time to move away from the meters.

I had similar sentiments during my short stint as a HPD Parking Enforcer in 2015.  I literally had no idea who my boss was or if I even had one.  I reported to the police department before and after each shift, but no one at HPD, including Chief Moore, had one bit of interest in how I was doing.  One day, an unmarked HPD detective's vehicle followed me up Warren Street to see how I was issuing tickets.  

I saw so many issues with the job, but I knew there was no one to talk to about them.  So, I quit after a few months.  It was no fun, no one thanked me at the end of the day or week, and no one checked up on me.  "Hey, Bill, how's the job going?  Is there anything you'd like to suggest that you see could be an improvement?"   No, I got none of that.  Instead, the feeling was:  "Write the tickets and shut up, we don't want to hear it anyway!" (whoever "we" might have been).  It was all kinda spooky, honestly.  Who wants to be in that environment for part-time work with no benefits where no one seems to care what or how you are doing, just as long as you write a certain number of tickets every day? 

Even though there has been no mention of the issue for months at any council meetings (or on the city's non-existent HELP WANTED webpage), the city should be looking to hire two pairs of fresh legs to issue parking meter violation tickets.  Until there is a Parking Bureau with a competent, approachable manager, no one should seek the vacant positions (if there are any).  Or maybe the city (mayor, police, city clerk, etc.) has decided not to fill the two vacant positions until a Parking Bureau is created because they know that the current system is bound to fail:  Part-time, no benefits, $16 an hour, on your feet walking all day outdoors on pavement close to traffic, no manager, and no help.   

The question is:  What, if anything, is City Hall doing about creating a Parking Bureau that will be a decent and worthwhile place to work?  How would we know if something like this is even happening, something the parking consultant and the former police chief both recently told us must happen?  When was the last time our mayor gave us a State Of The City talk in person and took some questions from the public?  Would the answer be "never"?  Would the mayor be the one to form a Parking Bureau or would it be up to Margaret Morris and her Parking Study Ad-Hoc Committee (are they studying the study?)?  That committee's meeting last month, scheduled for the 27th, was cancelled.

Read the original article on this subject here: Parking Tickets

Take care, Mike!