The Lexington Parking Authority announced changes Wednesday in charges for several downtown parking garages.

Starting next week, visitors to city offices who park in the Annex Garage, the Transit Center Garage, the Courthouse Garage or Victorian Square Garage will pay half the parking rate.

People who visit city offices now receive a validation stamp that allows them to use the garage free. Gary Means, executive director of the parking authority, estimates his agency validates $100,000 in free parking a year.

The Parking Authority will use the additional money to make needed garage repairs and upgrades.

The Parking Authority was created by the Urban County Council in 2008 to maintain and operate public parking throughout the city. It owns three of the former city garages and manages a fourth — the Courthouse Garage.

Repairs on the Annex Garage are under way, and parking there is limited. The garage will be closed from November until late spring as work progresses. A work schedule for the other three garages will be announced soon, Means said.

Beverly Fortune: (859) 231-3251. Twitter: @BFortune2010