Parking Authorities are constantly challenged by their dual constituencies: the politicians who appointed them and the public who clamor to claim the facilities and the services it believes it deserves. Policy Governance offers clarity to these sometime confusing claims.

Policy Governance states that boards of directors are trustees on behalf of a larger moral ownership. Although it may not be easy, it is imperative to determine who that ownership is. For many public organizations the ownership is the community in which it operates. This sense of ownership narrows the stakeholders in the district down to those who would be the stockholder equivalents. For example, a Downtown Parking Authority may represent the downtown business and building owners.

Once the ownership is defined, then the Parking Authority must communicate with them to document their needs and opinions. These needs can be determined from surveys, focus groups or interviews. The board can present the results to the politicians and the public and justify why a proposed action will more likely be in both of their interests.

---