The city council's proposed budget foreshadows a plan to make parking in the city's off-street car parks free for one hour at any time of the day, but as a trade-off parking fees will rise.

All one, two and four-hour zones will rise from $1.40 per hour to $2 - a rise of 43 per cent.

All day car parking will rise from $3 a day to $4, a 33 per cent increase.

The council has been trialling free parking in some off-street car parks since COVID to help attract shoppers to the CBD - something that has been extended a number of times while the council comes up with a permanent solution.

The two-hours of free parking at the beginning of each week day could soon become one hour of free parking at any time of the day in the CBD's off-street car parks but it will not extend to the privately owned Target and Coles car parks.

The parking trial was set to run until June 30 and costs about $5000 a month in lost revenue.

Parking revenue is actually up $80,000 on the figure forecast for July 2020 to March 2021 due to increased usage but the overall revenue is down $460,000 on the same period the previous year.

Meanwhile, the revenue the council collects from parking fines is set to increase in the next financial year with $426,000 forecast to be handed out this year compared to $681,000 next year - a 60 per cent jump.

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"Council is committed to providing one-hour of free parking in council-owned and managed off-street car parks, which provide convenient access to city centre shops," the council said.

"Depending on feedback from the community on the draft budget, the one-hour of free parking is a measure that could be introduced with the adoption of the budget."

The one-hour free car parking would apply to council-owned and managed off-street car parks including the two-hour spaces in Ozone, Parkers, Cramond and Dickson and Warrnambool Art Gallery car parks.

The proposed budget is set to be presented at Monday night's public council meeting before being sent out for public comment.

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