New economic development fund created for Oxford; OPD proposes parking meter fine changes
Oxford created two new funds during a Nov. 19 City Council meeting, one of which has potential implications for Enjoy Oxford. Police Chief John Jones also proposed changes to streamline parking fines.
Following the passage of a Fire and EMS Levy on Nov. 5, Oxford City Council voted to create two new city funds, including one to honor a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Miami University.
The first fund, which passed unanimously at a Nov. 19 City Council meeting, creates a Fire and EMS Property Tax Levy Fund, which is where the $1.283 million per year raised by the new 2.6-mill levy will go. Council members Alex French and Chantel Raghu were absent from the meeting. More than 70% of residents voted in favor of the levy, and Miami will now contribute an additional $1.27 million per year for 10 years to support the Oxford Fire Department.
"It was really an overwhelming bipartisan vote in support of Fire and EMS," council member David Prytherch said.
Miami's support was hinged on the levy's passage, as well as an MOU with the city in which the city committed to putting $270,000 per year toward economic development initiatives. City Council unanimously passed both a resolution to establish an Economic Development Fund to set aside money to fulfill this obligation.
The council members also passed an ordinance adjusting the city's allocation of the 3% convention tax on hotel and short-term rental stays.
The convention tax previously went entirely to Enjoy Oxford, the city's visitors' bureau, but the new language sets a floor of 50% to go toward Enjoy Oxford. Kim Daggy, executive director of Enjoy Oxford, spoke against the ordinance at the last city council meeting.
Based on feedback from council members and Daggy, Assistant City Manager Jessica Greene said city staff opted to raise the amount of money allocated to Enjoy Oxford in 2025 from $303,000 to $330,000, in line with what the bureau received in 2024. City staff will meet with Enjoy Oxford staff annually to review proposed budget requests from the visitors bureau as part of the annual budget planning process moving forward.
"The goal is to allow this fund to grow and to be used towards larger economic development investments such as site acquisition, site preparation, business support programs and creative placemaking," Greene said.
The allocation to Enjoy Oxford and other funds was made official as council unanimously passed several ordinances to set the city's 2025 budget, as well.
Parking fine revisions set for December vote
Oxford Police Department Chief John Jones presented four ordinances to update parking penalty guidance and incentivize drivers to pay tickets rather than risking citations.
The first ordinance is to officially codify a $250 penalty for parking in handicap spaces. While that is the state law, Jones said his staff realized while looking into Oxford's parking code that the penalty was not on the books in the city. If passed, the ordinance will add it to city code.
The second, third and fourth ordinances will each revise parking penalties if passed. Jones said the current code has led to confusion when people attempt to pay their tickets, and the ordinances will streamline the penalty guidance with more consistent language.
Two of the ordinances will update parking fines to escalate if not paid within 15 days, rather than the current 10-day period. These ordinances also removes language about paying the ticket at the Municipal Building. The other ordinance raises the initial meter fine from $10 to $15, which will increase to $25 if not paid after 15 days. Subsequent fines within limited time periods will cost more.
Under the current $10 fine, Jones said in certain parts of town it's cheaper to risk a ticket than to pay for all-day parking, which this adjustment would fix.
Mayor Bill Snavely said the meter fine was $10 when he moved to Oxford in 1977 and hadn't changed in almost 50 years. Council member Jason Bracken said the fees would still be low under the updated penalties.
"It's the lowest I've ever experienced in any place I've ever lived by orders of magnitude," Bracken said. "But I'm glad. I don't want it back-breaking."
Oxford City Council will have two more meetings in 2024 in the courthouse on Dec. 3 and 17. During the next meeting, council will vote on the parking ordinances presented by Jones. Both meetings will be held at 7:30 p.m., and video of the meetings is available on the city website.
