Warrnambool City councillors will vote on returning parking fees to the city after a three-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic on Monday night, however there could still be some free time for drivers.
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The proposed initiative would see free short-term parking in the Ozone, Cramond and Dickson and Parkers off-street car parks between 9am and 11am each weekday.
The suspension of paid parking has cost the council hundreds of thousands of dollars after it was made free in response to the coronavirus crisis on March 23.
A council report says before COVID-19 the council generated between $120,000 and $170,000 per month from parking revenue.
The free parking was welcomed by some business owners, however the council and some shop owners raised concerns about people overstaying car park time limits or CBD workers staying in parks all day.
"Council officers have been patrolling and enforcing time limits in the CBD, however these patrols are much more resource intensive and cannot be done as quickly as those undertaken in a metered environment," the report says.
"It is difficult to maintain a strong enforcement regime in a free parking environment unless general revenue is diverted to fund the local laws program."
If paid parking is returned, it would be reinstated on July 20.
Also on the agenda is the tender process for the Reid Oval upgrade, the 2020/21 budget and the glass bin collection trial results.
The meeting will be live-streamed from 5.45pm via the council's website.
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