The price to park
CMU Parking Services generates more than $2 million per year. Where does that money go?
Getting a parking ticket isn’t something most people would describe as fun. But giving parking tickets is something that brought about $375,000 to parking services last year, according to Central Michigan University Police Department Lieutenant Mike Sienkiewicz.
Central Michigan Life talked to students around campus and asked: Do you have a car, and if so, what is your experience with Parking Services?
For CMU junior Kailey Underwood, the cost of a parking permit is reasonable after transferring from the University of Tennessee. She didn’t say the same about parking tickets.
“They’re crazy about parking tickets here,” Underwood said, and explained that she once got two in the same week.
Some students said the cost of a permit and a ticket are fair. Others said they didn’t bring a car to campus because of the cost.
“Our goal is not to write parking tickets,” Sienkiewicz said. “I think that’s the message that we want students to know. We’d love to see compliance.”
The total revenue for Parking Services is $2,005,000, according to the CMU Operating Budget for 2024-25. Sienkiewicz said that is made up of parking permit sales, citations, parking tickets and meter revenue.
At the same time, Parking Services gives back about $863,000 to the university to support different projects, such as the access control across campus buildings, and parking lot and road repairs, Sienkiewicz said.
He said the university looks at the prior year’s revenue and expenses to create an annual operating budget.
“Parking Services isn’t an independent entity,” Sienkiewicz said. “We’re part of the university, just like any other department here on campus, and we don’t make these decisions on our own. So any decisions that are made as far as parking rules, regulations, rates and such are all approved by the CMU Board of Trustees.”
The rates for permits are decided based on market factors, such as prices at other colleges, Sienkiewicz said.
CMU’s parking permit for students varies from $165 to $190 per year, depending on student standing and housing. It is $200 a year for faculty and staff, according to CMU’s website.
Sienkiewicz said these rates have gone up by $15 in the 2023-24 academic year. He said it was also the first time in 20 years that the parking permit prices have been increased.
By comparison, the permit price at Western Michigan University is $300 for an academic year. For Grand Valley State University, the student permit varies from $210 to $240 per semester.
Sienkiewicz said that Parking Services function by supply and demand.
“There has to be a system in place … to avoid chaos, and so people can plan ahead to know where they are likely going to be able to find parking spaces,” he said. “So it’s really to help manage the capacity that we have, and there has to be some system to make it as fair as possible.”
To manage the supply and demand, Sienkiewicz said, Parking Services enforce use of permits. There are over 8,000 people with permits on campus this semester, he said.
In total, parking services’ expenses are about $1.14 million, according to the CMU Operating Budget for 2024-25. Those go to staff salaries and benefits, supplies, equipment, vehicles and fuel, Sienkiewicz said.
