Orillia Council’s decision to increase parking fines in the city has raised some questions by the Chair of the Downtown Management Board.
Mariano Tulipano questions whether all the councillors were aware of where the money comes from to conduct infrastructure improvements to downtown parking facilities.
He fears that some councillors may have voted for the increase the parking ticket fines under the belief that money would be used to improve parking downtown.
Tulipano says that is not the case as all bylaw enforcement revenues go into the cities general revenue account.
Further more he says the motion for additional bylaw revenues was presented as a solution to the need for additional parking infrastructure.
Tulipano says that argument was somewhat misleading and money to improve downtown parking comes from the Parking Reserve Fund.
The reserve consists of dollars collected from parking meters, pay and display machines and monthly parking permits.
The reserve fund’s dollars come directly from business owners, downtown employees and mostly from downtown customers.
