K udos to Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith for offering free holiday parking in the county?s downtown retail districts. No one likes to feed meters, especially when it?s cold and you need to pull off gloves to dig for change. More importantly, the break encourages residents to shop locally during this Hanukkah and Christmas season ? and to linger longer in local shops and restaurants. That means more money for Baltimore County businesses and the County Revenue Authority through higher sales tax receipts ? and more holiday cheer all around.
Baltimore City could help to repair some goodwill with residents and visitors after the bogus ticket writing scandal by making all parking free for the rest of the month. (The Examiner documented numerous cases of residents and visitors who received tickets for parking in the city when their cars were out of state or out of town.)
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And ifthey have not already, the remaining 22 county governments in Maryland should also offer free parking to residents. With a slate of new taxes set to siphon more from Marylander?s paychecks starting next month, this gesture would show taxpayers they are not taken for granted.
