AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE OFF-STREET PARKING BOARD IN THE CITY OF WORCESTER
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the off-street parking board of the city of Worcester, established under chapter 365 of the acts of 1955, may impose a surcharge to be added to the rate charged for each vehicle using the CitySquare garage located underground at the corner of Front street and Mercantile street in the city of Worcester. The board may establish different surcharge rates based upon the length of time a vehicle is parked, whether the vehicle holds a monthly parking pass or is a daily transient parker or upon such other criteria as the board deems reasonable.
SECTION 2. The proceeds of any such surcharge shall be credited to a revolving fund which shall be established by the city of Worcester under section 53E½ of chapter 44 of the General Laws and shall be designated the Worcester Common Environs Programing & Maintenance Revolving Fund. The fund shall be established to maintain the physical infrastructure of the Worcester Common, to program music, dramatic and other public events held on the common, to support the operation of the skating rink in the winter, to provide police patrols and security measures, to provide for a capital reserve fund for the repair or replacement of any capital facility, structure or memorial located on the common or to assist in the payment of debts incurred by the sale of bonds and notes sold for purposes consistent with these purposes and backed by the full faith and credit of the city of Worcester.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding section 53E½ of chapter 44 of the General Laws, at the close of a fiscal year in which this revolving fund is not reauthorized for the following year, the balance in the fund shall revert to the off-street parking board for expenditure for the repair or replacement, or related debt service, of any capital facility under the care, custody and control of the board.
SECTION 4. Once the revolving fund is established as required by this act, the treasurer of the city of Worcester may accept for deposit into the revolving fund any grants or gifts of funds from any charitable foundation, private corporation or individual or from the commonwealth, without the formal acceptance otherwise required by section 53A of chapter 44 of the General Laws; provided, however, that notice of any such gift or grant is publically made to the city council of the city of Worcester.
SECTION 5. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the revenues generated by the surcharge authorized by this act shall not be considered project revenues governed by any district improvement financing plan approved under chapter 40Q of the General Laws.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon its passage or upon the opening of the CitySquare garage for public use, whichever first occurs, and any revenue generated during the initial fiscal year of operation shall be considered a new revenue source under section 53E½ of chapter 44 of the General Laws.
Approved, January 29, 2016.