JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes, Ward 3, held a community meeting on Thursday concerning the downtown parking meters.

Stokes said the elderly have a difficult time operating the new meters. The new parking kiosks, a product of SP Plus, are part of the city’s updated parking program.

“Can you imagine a senior citizen for the first time trying to park in downtown Jackson, looking for a parking meter to pay that meter fee to go into the courthouse to pay taxes? And then there’s no meter,” he said.

This results in fines and parking tickets issued by a third party. Officials said people are having a hard time paying due to not knowing who, how or where to pay.

“And the ones that are writing the tickets, they are not city employees. They work for a private company, and they are out there like bloodhounds, looking for a trace, looking for some blood. Looking to find somebody’s meter that has expired. We’re not going to take that,” said former Hinds County Supervisor David Archie.

Alice Wallace, the senior manager of SP Plus, attended the meeting to help provide citizens with a better understanding of how to use the new parking system.

“If you use the parking meter, you can pay with coins or with credit cards. If there’s a problem, we have a meter hotline number to call, and he will come to you or she will come to you directly and help you to pay for your space and get your receipt if you choose,” she said.

Wallace said anyone who received a ticket can choose to file an appeal using the information on the back of the ticket they received.