Parking inspectors behind cameras Carly Crawford Herald Sun Melbourne August 16, 2007 12:00am NUMBER plates of city motorists who park illegally could be photographed, giving them no way out of a fine.
Melbourne City Council is interested in the photo-fine concept, which has reaped millions in Britain.
Under one plan, parking inspectors would be armed with cameras; another concept would involve automated cameras snapping cars parked illegally.
The council snared $60 million in parking revenue last financial year.
Recent changes to parking rules are tipped to deliver another $1 million a year -- but still the council wants more.
It has ordered a review of faulty parking meters after revenue fell $9 million short of expectations.
Finance committee chair councillor Brian Shanahan said automated-camera parking fines could be considered.
"It's something that we would think to look at," he said.
Melbourne is one of several councils to consider snapping illegally parked motorists using a network of cameras.
Debate hinges on whether it is cheaper to employ more ticket inspectors or replace them with elevated cameras trained on parking bays.
Australian Services Union secretary Brian Parkinson said MCC bureaucrats were planning to install software on ticketing devices that would let inspectors download images captured on cameras.
"It would help them, because if people are objecting, the council will back our members," he said. "It will help them do their job."
Cr Shanahan said parking fine and fee revenue had slumped to $60 million in the 2007 financial year -- $5 million down from the previous year and $9.1 million below budget forecasts.
Changing commuter trends were behind the plunge.
"We may have to accept that since fewer people are coming in by car, parking is not going to be what it once was for us," Cr Shanahan said.
He said faulty parking meters dudded the council of about $1.5 million a year, and a report on the problem was being compiled.
"We're concerned about the increasing number of faulty machines," he said.