I Choose Bar and the Movement for Change: Director of "Parking Service Bar" to explain the pricing methodology for parking fees

The Bar councilors' club Biram Bar and the Movement for Change announced that one of the main topics being discussed in Bar these days is the introduction of parking fees and the determination of parking prices. In this regard, as they stated, a logical question arises - how satisfied are the people of Bar so far with the work of the company "Parking Servis" and how satisfied can citizens be with the new charges they have to pay?

Until recently, Bar was recognized as a place where, despite the crowds and lack of parking spaces, it was not necessary to think about paying for parking, the party announced, adding that the idea of ​​establishing the "Parking Service" was to encourage shorter vehicle stays and increase the availability of parking spaces by charging, but we will only see whether this intention will be realized when the charging system comes into effect.

"It is clear, however, that the parking problem cannot be permanently solved without the construction of new and reconstruction of existing parking spaces, as well as the construction of modern underground and above-ground garages and the introduction of regular public transport. If there were a responsible and visionary local government that listened to the needs of citizens, the priority would be the development of infrastructure, not the establishment of companies that create additional costs for citizens," reads a statement from this councilors' club from the Bar Municipal Assembly.

Although Parking Service was founded more than a year ago, they noted, the company has not yet started its core business – parking control and collection. During that period, they say, more than 100.000 euros were spent on gross salaries and fees for the executive director and members of the board of directors. The municipality has allocated a total of 190.000 euros in the 2024 and 2025 budget for the operation and establishment of the company – an amount sufficient to build over 50 new parking spaces.

"Instead of investments that would permanently solve the parking problem, most of these funds are spent on salaries and fees, which rightly causes dissatisfaction among citizens and doubts about the motives for establishing the company. The decision to establish Parking Service was made at the end of 2023, and almost two years later the company still does not perform its basic function, nor has the municipality initiated serious reconstruction projects or the construction of new parking lots," they said.

They assessed that they saw a reflection of the company's work at the last session of the Bar Municipal Council, when the parking price list was adopted. When their councilors' club asked the company director to explain the methodology used to set the prices, they received no answer.

Parking prices must be socially acceptable, but also economically justified, they say, which is clearly defined in the Law on Communal Activities and the Regulation on Detailed Elements and Methodology of Prices for Utility Services.

"Since the documentation does not contain an explanation of the method of determining prices, nor any economic analysis that would take into account the expected volume of utility services and the volume of projected costs, it is obvious that this is a total improvisation in the work of this public company. A serious analysis of economic justification and social acceptability would be the only indicator that the prices are the result of professional calculations, and not approximate estimates," they said.

They invited the director of "Parking Servis Bar" to publicly present the methodology on the basis of which the prices were determined - the citizens of Bar have the right to know how the budget money is spent and how the prices they will soon pay are determined.

In the future, as they said, they expect more responsibility in the work of the "Parking Service" and a more serious approach from the local government in solving the parking problem - through the construction of new parking spaces, public garages and the development of traffic infrastructure, which Bar, as a modern city, deserves.

The role of the municipality is to provide citizens with better living conditions, they concluded, and not to impose obligations on them first. Only the right balance between what citizens give and what they receive creates trust and leads to progress, they said in a statement.