Listen to Parking to Pension at the Regents Retreat

At the Regents retreat today, everything connected to the budget was “on the table.”  One unusual option presented by UCOP’s financial staff was a proposal to raise campus parking fees (thus making the parking services more valuable) and then give the UC parking system to the pension fund as a portfolio asset.  Doing so would reduce the need for pension employer and employee pension contributions.

The idea is a variant of a plan some cities have implemented or considered to sell their parking meters and parking lots to a private firm for an upfront payment.  It was pointed out that the proposal would raise costs for faculty, staff, and students who parked on UC campuses.  However, some of the cost would be off-loaded to campus visitors and patients who use campus parking.

You may not have thought of parking as an end-of-life issue but turning it over to the pension plan is a move in that direction!

You can hear the audio of the discussion of this matter at the two links below:

Part 1:

Part 2: