SHAMOKIN - The city has surpassed last year's haul collected from its parking meters.
A total of $91,835.36 was collected through Friday, according to Police Chief Ed Griffiths. That's $7,630.01 more than the $84,205.35 motorists dropped into the meters in all of 2012.
City council purchased 600 new meter mechanisms in 2012, financed on a five-year loan of $100,901 at 3.591 percent interest. They were installed last fall, accompanied by a rate change that cut meter times in half: A quarter now buys 30 minutes at some meters and 60 minutes at others.
It was estimated by City Clerk Steve Bartos that the new meters and adjusted rates would yield up to $120,000 annually, about $30,000 more than what had been collected from the old mechanisms in recent years.
Some of the old electronic meters, refurbished models about 15 years old, frequently faltered by "eating" coins and shortchanging motorists. That lead to complaints levied at the police department and city hall. The new models are working near flawlessly and complaints are virtually nil, Griffiths said.
The meters log the previous 250 transactions, including how much money was inserted and at what time. If they go out-of-order, that's logged too, allowing officers to check the validity of any reported complaints. They have an estimated lifespan of 10 years.