Above: The Leamington parking ramp on 10th Street and 2nd Avenue.

Minneapolis is sticking with a Los Angeles-based company for one of its largest contracts -- managing the city's massive parking system.

The City Council on Friday voted to negotiate a new contract with ABM Parking Services, which oversees 17 public parking ramps and eight surface lots totaling 22,000 stalls altogether. It is the city's third largest vendor contract in terms of annual payments, totaling about $22 million in 2014.

The city more than makes the money back in parking revenues, which were about $30 million last year, according to a city staff report. Operating costs have also been falling due in part to increased automation, which requires less staff at the ramps.

ABM's Minneapolis operation is branded under the name MPLS Parking. Only one other firm, Connecticut-based Laz Parking, submitted proposals for the contract.

The city switched to ABM (formerly called Ampco) in 2006, after more than 30 years with local company Municipal Parking, Inc. They signed another contract with ABM in 2011. The length of the new ABM contract hasn't been determined, though the request for proposals sought a three-year agreement with two one-year extensions.

The measure passed unanimously through the City Council's transportation committee and full meeting without discussion.

The city's largest vendor payment in 2014 was $55 million to Medica for employee health insurance. A $34.5 million payment to the Met Council for waste water treatment clocked in a No. 2.

Other large annual vendor payments include IT provider Unisys ($14.3 million), utility company Xcel Energy ($12.2 million), convention bureau Meet Minneapolis ($8.2 million) and trash haulers Minneapolis Refuse Incorporated ($6.5 million).

A list of ramps and rates is available here on the city's website.