DCC defends parking profits

The Dunedin City Council has banked a $2 million profit from parking meters in less than a year, new figures show.

The figures, obtained by the Otago Daily Times late last week, show motorists poured just over $3 million into the city's meters between July 1 last year and May 31 this year.

Once council parking meter operating costs of about $1 million were covered, a $2 million surplus remained, council development services manager Kevin Thompson confirmed.

The excess funds were used to cover deficits in other council departments, or returned to the council's consolidated fund to help reduce the rates burden.

Deputy mayor Syd Brown, chairman of the council's parking review working party, defended the 11 months' profit as being "about right".

The cash was collected since the council launched its controversial parking strategy on July 1 last year, introducing new meters, $1 to $4-an-hour charges and four-hour maximum stays across the central city.

At the time, Cr John Bezett - then-chairman of the parking strategy working party - said the changes were not aimed at revenue gathering.

Cr Brown said the council had always built a "buffer" into its budgeting, aiming for a surplus from parking meters to ensure any unexpected drop in revenue did not require a lift in rates to compensate.

There had never been an intention to increase profits made from parking as a result of the parking strategy changes, he said.

"We weren't out to increase the revenue. We were out to be prudent in our budgeting."

A $2 million surplus would ease pressure on rates by about 2%, but running the city's parking-meter operation at cost price could result in rates having to be lifted if anticipated income budgets were not met, he said.

"I think it's about right.We wouldn't want to be trying to budget for a $5 million profit. That would be quite unrealistic."

The figures were requested by the ODT under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

They showed the $3 million income from parking meters was $294,000 above an expected $2.75 million.

The $2 million surplus that resulted in the 11 months was lower than the 2008-09 surplus, of about $2.5 million, because of the one-off extra cost of implementing the council's parking strategy, Mr Thompson said.

Other areas of the council's parking operation - including parking buildings and off-street car parks - recorded significant drops in income, Cr Brown said.

That meant overall parking income was down $177,000 to $5.22 million in the year to date, he said.

Revenue from parking buildings and off-street parking was down $443,000 to about $2.16 million.

Cr Brown was at a loss to explain the drop, after the council made parking buildings "the cheapest in town" to attract motorists.

"We thought the street revenue would have gone down and more people would have gone to the parking buildings, but they haven't done it."

Income from infringement notices had earned the council about $2.1 million in the 2009-10 year, Mr Thompson said.

That was $112,000 less than forecast, but still left a surplus after operational costs of $1.86 million were covered.

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

 

 

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