Maine AG looking into USM's parking enforcement contractor

Jul. 17—The Office of the Maine Attorney General is looking into complaints that a parking enforcement company hired by the University of Southern Maine has used predatory tactics to squeeze money out of campus visitors.

Public records turned over to the Portland Press Herald through a Freedom of Access Act request detail 15 complaints that were filed with the office between December 2023 and March 2024, with campus visitors alleging they were wrongly ordered to pay $55 fines and told their information could be sent to a debt collector if they didn't pay up.

Parking Revenue Recovery Services, which is based in Colorado, has managed parking enforcement for the public university at its campuses in Portland and Gorham since July 15, 2023. According to a copy of the contract, the agreement automatically renews after the initial 12-month term is over, unless USM sends notice within 30 days — an action the school has not taken.

A spokesperson for the attorney general's office said they "cannot comment on or confirm the existence of an investigation," so it's unclear whether the office is formally investigating the company. However, emails between Assistant Attorney General Michael Devine and USM's Manager of Parking & Transportation Trystan Henry show that the attorney general's office is reviewing the company's policies and practices.

In releasing the records to the Press Herald, Devine also said in an email that some documents were redacted because of a possibility that they would "interfere with proceedings relating to civil violations, civil enforcement proceedings and other civil proceedings conducted by the Department of the Attorney General or by a district attorney's office."

The University of Southern Maine declined several interview requests to discuss the probe and whether the school is concerned about the legality, efficacy or impact of the company's parking enforcement mechanisms.

A spokesperson for USM said the school is not aware of any legal action involving the University of Southern Maine, the University of Maine System, or Parking Revenue Recovery Services and that it has made changes to its Gorham and Portland campus parking systems to increase accessibility.

"We continue to listen to feedback from the community and make improvements and address concerns," the spokesperson said.

THE COMPLAINTS

Mainers driving onto USM's Portland and Gorham campuses, including some who've been saddled with thousands of dollars in parking tickets, have been frustrated by the parking enforcement system since it was implemented last summer.

Students and community members who previously spoke with the Press Herald said they received tickets while just driving on campus, briefly pulling into a parking lot or otherwise idling.

Complaints lodged with the state mirror those grievances.

They said the company's $55 parking fines are unreasonably expensive, especially compared to the $1 an hour cost of parking on the Gorham campus, that signs explaining the parking enforcement system are inadequate, and that the company consistently and wrongly tickets people who drive on campus to drop off or pick up someone and never actually park.

They also said Parking Revenue Recovery Services is challenging to reach and communicate with, that the app used to pay for parking is glitchy and that threats of legal action and debt collection sent out if the fine is not paid within 30 days are aggressive. Some also noted that they take particular issue with the company's practices because they are being used on college students.

"USM-Gorham has imposed a poorly publicized, inhospitable, and indefensibly expensive parking policy with penalties imposed jointly and surreptitiously by USM and a disreputable, Colorado-based vendor, Parking Revenue Recovery Services, Inc.," one complaint reads.

"This kind of predatory business behavior should not be tolerated in the state of Maine," says another.

The names of those who filed complaints were redacted and the complaints are not dated.

INVESTIGATION BY COLORADO AG

The Colorado attorney general has investigated complaints against Parking Revenue Recovery Services and found that the company illegally collected or tried to collect parking fines. The company settled the case for roughly $100,000 in August 2023, around a month after it began its work in Maine.

The company has denied that it acted illegally or unfairly in either the Colorado or the USM cases.

USM said in a statement that it made changes to its automated parking system that will make it easier for people entering a lot to pay. It extended its grace periods, introduced new methods of paying for parking (besides just scanning QR codes), started using a different parking validation company, and added signage around the lots.

USM said it wants parking to be as easy and user-friendly as possible but that it must generate revenue so it can afford necessary parking upkeep and improvement.

"There remains a delta between what we invest and the revenue generated," the system said. "And we always need to consider that gap to ensure our public university remains affordable to Maine students."

Staff Writer Nikki Harris contributed to this report.

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