Council defends parking expenditure. Critics cite deficit where spending on officers exceeds fines revenue.
Cowley thinks people will be shocked. He believes the council is wasting money, as they spend more on parking fines than they collect.
Cowley used data from penalty notices and the council. He showed a new problem about parking expenses last year. The council spent £774k on parking officers, but they only made £736k from parking tickets. This is not good.
The council says officers do something other than ticket people, explaining they do not only focus on how many tickets they give.
Robin Ray works for the council. He says officers should encourage people to park correctly, as the goal is to stop illegal parking. Ray hopes officers will report everyone parks safely and prefers no tickets given at all.
Parking is a controversial local issue. Ray adds that few drivers ignore parking rules, and these drivers will get the tickets. The team does other things as well.
Officers spend time on road safety, especially near schools. This work is important, even if it does not make money.
Ray also said the parking budget has issues now. The council must only invest surplus money in certain projects, specifically for only parking, roads, and the environment.