(PHOTO AND STORY: KHQ.COM)
If you plan to park in downtown Spokane any time soon, you may need to start carrying coins if you want to avoid a ticket.
The city is preparing for a change that could start this week.
A company that oversees the Quick Pay app isn't paying up in revenue, which in turn is a problem for the city. The service has not paid the city nearly $80,000 in promised revenue. City spokesman Brian Coddington says it's not a matter of wanting to get rid of the app, but rather simply to collect the fees owed to the city.
Coddington says they have been negotiating with the Canadian company called Locomobi for repayment of the parking fees but without any success.
Right now the city is making every effort to minimize the interruption in the pay-by-phone option, and are considering finding alternative services if the app doesn't pay up.
We're told revenue from the pay-by-phone service, that was first implemented in 2014, makes up a small portion of the total meter receipts.
There's still a lot of questions: Where is this money going and who has it?
KHQ called and emailed Locomobi and we are waiting to hear back.
The city has asked for bids from different firms providing mobile parking payment services, by March 20th.