Regents assess new parking rates for 2003-04 school year

Among the actions UNT regents took at their Feb. 21 meeting, faculty and staff may be most interested in the changes affecting 2003-04 parking permits.

Despite the fact that the costs of "A" reserved and "D" faculty/staff parking permits will be going up, Richard Rafes, senior vice president for administration, says there is good news, too.

"What is good," he explains, "is that beginning next year all parking fees can be counted as pre-tax dollars and 'D' permit holders who take advantage of the pretax program can end up actually paying less for parking next year."

Parking fees must be paid through payroll deduction to be eligible for the pretax option.

Under the newly approved fee structure, the cost of "A" permits will go up from the current $200 to $275 for the 2003-04 academic year, and the cost of "D" faculty/ staff permits will increase from the current $105 to $117 for next year. A $12 transportation services fee is included in the increase for both permits.

Rafes says UNT must charge more for the "A" spaces because they are reserved for the permit holder all day long. On the other hand, the come-and-go "D" spaces can accommodate additional parking throughout the day.

"UNT is making every effort to keep parking permit prices and fees competitive while it addresses needs created by enrollment growth, building construction and increased operating costs," Rafes says.

The cost of student parking permits will go down (from $125 to $100) for students willing to park in remote lots and up (from $125 to $140) for those who seek spaces in "preferred" parking lots. In addition, the cost of "R" residential permits will go up from $135 to $140 and the cost of "M" motorcycle permits will increase from $36 to $72.

"This initial establishment of a tiered permit rate structure, that allows students to pay less for parking spaces away from the center of campus, is intended to be 'revenue neutral,' but, until permits are sold, we cannot determine the overall effect on revenue," Rafes says. Revenue neutral means the university is not intending to make a profit from the permit sales. The new fee structure also will include a $3 per day parking fee for conference attendees. Rafes indicated that the regents might consider a visitor-parking fee at their next meeting in May.

In addition to approving the new parking fees, regents approved the name Traditions Hall for the residence hall currently under construction on North Texas Boulevard.

Among other significant Board of Regents actions were tuition, fee and room and board increases that will bring the university an estimated $15.4 million in additional revenue. Specifics include:

• Approval of a $2-per-semester-credit-hour increase (from $44 to $46) in board-designated tuition for all students; a $20-per-semester-credit-hour increase (from $26 to $46) in board-authorized tuition for graduate students only and
• Approval of a 9 percent rate increase for standard double-occupancy rooms in university housing; a 15 percent increase for double-occupancy rooms in Mozart Square, Santa Fe and Traditions Hall; a 20 percent increase for semi-private and single-occupancy rooms in Mozart, Santa Fe and Traditions; and a 3 percent increase in board rates.
• Approval of new fees and fee increases including, student recreational facility fee, medical services fee, Union fee, technology use fee, library use fee, publication fee and endowment management fee.

BY RODDY WOLPER rwolper@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• UNT's first vice president for research and technology transfer named
• Promoting a safe spring break
• North Texas Jazz Festival set April 4-6 in Addison
• The First Great UNT Cleanup
• Pohl talks to Faculty Senate about budget
• How the HIPAA privacy rule affects UNT researchers
• University, Honors, Alumni days in April
• Chicago will be talk of town at Academy Awards, film historian says
• Changes coming to UNT faculty election process

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