Free parking in CBD to boost shops creates budget headache

TOWNSVILLE City Council has lost more than $275,000 in parking revenue since the coronavirus support package was put in place.

The council announced in March it would not charge people for CBD parking to encourage people to shop in the city.

It was part of a suite of measures to help the community weather the coronavirus pandemic. But the cost of providing that small relief will leave a gaping hole in the council’s budget.

The council raised $1.8 million in parking revenue and a further $790,000 from parking fines in the 2018-19 financial year.

The council is “bracing” for the impact COVID-19 measures and relief will have on the city’s 2020-21 budget.

Mayor Jenny Hill said the impact of the parking measure would be just one thing the council needed to discuss ahead of the pending budget.

“There is a whole range of things we have to look at in the budget,” she said.

“The community is hurting, we’ve set up ability for people to defer rate payments and we’re talking to other local authorities about what mechanisms they’re going to be using (to help the community).

“It’s not just Townsville being asked to support local communities – Brisbane City Council, Mackay, Cairns, we’re all in the same boat.”

Cr Hill said while the COVID-19 pandemic was hitting the region, the council would not reintroduce paid parking. “At the moment, it is there and it is about trying to support CBD businesses.”

Cr Hill added that recouping those costs would be difficult, especially as the community deals with the virus.

“Businesses in the community are really hurting out there.

“We know that at least one in five households is struggling to meet financial commitments, and businesses, even with the Jobkeeper payments, there will be a number of what they are calling zombie businesses that will probably collapse,” Cr Hill said.

“All councils are bracing for a collapse under COVID-19.”