Jackson council tables its $225,750 downtown parking assessment to Nov. 17 and suspends overtime parking fines for the holidays

JACKSON, Mich. — The Jackson City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 20, put off a decision on a $225,750 special assessment that downtown property owners would pay next year to keep the city’s municipal parking lots free of meters, tabling it to the council’s Nov. 17 meeting after a public hearing, WLNS reported.

In the meantime, the council voted 6-0 to suspend fines for overtime parking downtown in November and December. Blue Julep owner Laura Davenport suggested the holiday pause during the hearing, saying the two-hour limit is too short for people who want to dine, shop and see the murals. The city manager said permits would still be sold, and the city attorney said the exemption should cover overtime parking only, not disability spaces, according to WLNS. The city manager also said suggestions from the hearing would go to the Downtown Development Authority, which could adjust the parking plan before the council decides.

The charge is up from last year’s $200,000 budget, according to a report from city appraiser Curtis Sawdon in the council’s Oct. 20 agenda packet. The city asked for $230,000 this year; the actual calculations came to a preliminary $225,750.

The meterless system dates to 1984, when the city did away with downtown parking meters. Instead of feeding a meter, owners who benefit from the lots are assessed based on how many spaces their buildings need, which depends on occupancy, zoning and spaces they own or lease, the report says. The money pays for plowing, salting, utilities, seal coating, striping and repairs. Without it, the report warns, those lots would go unfunded.

The resolution before the council would only declare the system necessary and order Assessor Jason Yoakam’s office to draw up the assessment roll. Owners get a second hearing on the roll itself at the council’s Nov. 17 meeting, the proposed resolution says.

The Downtown Development Authority’s board backed continuing the program at a Sept. 10 special meeting, but not unanimously. The vote was 4–2 with one abstention, Executive Director Beth Kuiper wrote in a memo to the assessor.

The agenda also included a $214,400 contract with Top Notch Tree Care of Leslie to buy and plant about 200 street trees in spring 2027. It is the last phase of a $757,275 federal urban forestry grant that also paid for a tree inventory and removal of hazardous trees, City Engineer Troy White wrote. Top Notch scored highest of three bidders and had the lowest price, his report says.

Other items on the agenda included:

• Trick-or-treat hours of 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, with residents asked to leave porch lights on.
• Change orders cutting two lead service line contracts by a combined $1,218,915, to match the work actually done in the field: $517,040 off Hirst Electric’s grounding contract and $701,875 off Northwood Plumbing’s.
• Final adoption of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes ordinance for King Community Homes II, a Jackson Interfaith Nonprofit Housing project.
• Permission for staff to bid no more than $1,000 apiece on up to four parcels at the Jackson County tax-foreclosure auction.
• Putting unpaid city invoices more than 90 days overdue onto 2026 winter tax bills.
• Event approvals for the downtown Christmas parade Nov. 20, Christmas in the City Nov. 21, a Veterans Day celebration Nov. 11 and the 12 Bars of Christmas crawl Dec. 19.

The meeting opened with a presentation on Phase 2 of the city’s racial equity audit by consultant CNA. Its September report lists 39 findings, according to the slides in the packet. Among them: 87% of the city’s 77 new hires from 2023 to 2025 were white and 76% were male, compared with a city population that is 63% white. CNA’s recommendations include department equity plans, measurable hiring goals and minority- and women-owned business outreach in city purchasing, with set-asides “where lawful.”

Tuesday’s session was the council’s first since Sept. 22. The Oct. 6 meeting was canceled because three council members expected to be absent, MLive reported.

The council meets in the second-floor chambers at City Hall, 161 W. Michigan Ave. Public comment is in person only and limited to three minutes. Meetings air on Comcast Channel 21 and the city’s website and YouTube page.

Updated Oct. 21, 2026: The council tabled the parking assessment to Nov. 17 and suspended overtime parking fines for November and December, so this story now reports the outcome. Source: WLNS.

Sources:
City of Jackson, City Council agenda and packet, Oct. 20, 2026 (meterless parking report, DDA memo and resolution; street tree contract; Halloween hours; lead line change orders; PILOT; equity audit slides), https://jacksonmi.portal.civicclerk.com/event/965/files
Direct packet PDF, https://jacksonmi.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=2121,plainText=false)
City of Jackson, City Council Meeting Information (time, place, public comment, broadcasts), https://cityofjackson.org/885/City-Council-Meeting-Information
MLive, “Jackson City Council meeting canceled due to expected absences,” October 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2026/10/jackson-city-council-meeting-canceled-due-to-expected-absences.html
WLNS, “Jackson City Council suspends parking fines for the holiday season,” Oct. 21, 2026, https://www.wlns.com/jackson/jackson-city-council-waives-parking-fines-for-the-holiday-season/
Photo: DontCallMeLateForDinner / Wikimedia Commons, “Jackson, Michigan City Hall, 2025,” CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jackson,_Michigan_City_Hall,_2025.jpg

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Tags: Jackson · News · Jackson City Council · Downtown Jackson · Parking · Special Assessment · Street Trees · Halloween