The City of Greater Bendigo expects to rake in more than $1 million from parking fines across the municipality next financial year after raising the minimum fine from $45 to $50.
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The proposed change is contained in the council’s draft budget, which would see the two higher category parking fines remain unchanged at $94 and $155 respectively.
Offences attracting the $50 fine include not buying a ticket in a paid car park, overstaying the time limit on a parking bay and ignoring “no parking” signs.
City of Greater Bendigo health and wellbeing director, Vicky Mason, said it would be the first time the city had upped the fines since the 2014-15 financial year and even under the proposed increase, they were still lower than other municipalities across the state.
“Our parking fines are lower than many other comparable councils, and we believe they are reasonable to discourage people from overstaying or not paying for parking,” she said.
But Ms Mason said the purpose of issuing parking fines and fees was not to raise revenue but to keep traffic moving and ensure access, saying the money raised was not guaranteed revenue and was not relied on to fund other services.
“Our aim is to keep traffic moving in the [central business district] and other busy areas in Bendigo,” she said.
“This benefits businesses and residents who want to go about their daily business, whether that is shopping, running errands or accessing services.”
Ms Mason said the city’s staff also undertook “a significant amount of community education” to reduce the number of people paying fines.
“They do this by providing advice, pointing out other areas to park and explaining who is disadvantaged when someone overstays in a park or parks in the wrong area,” she said.
“Parking signs are checked regularly to make sure parking rules are clearly marked.
“The city has also recently launched a PayStay trial to offer residents additional methods to pay for their parking, and therefore to avoid fines.”
The total number of fines issued has fallen during the past three years, from a five-year high of 16,672 in 2013-14 to 15,907 last financial year.
But revenue raised during that time has risen, from $911,246 in 2013-14 to $944,582 in 2015-16, averaging out to $866,148 during the past five years.
Jason Walls
Bendigo born and bred, interested in business malpractice, crime, social justice and corruption in all its forms. Got a tip? 5434 4476
Bendigo born and bred, interested in business malpractice, crime, social justice and corruption in all its forms. Got a tip? 5434 4476
