Panel approves hike
in parking feesUnder the proposal, motorists will spend
up to $1.50 per hour for street parking
The cost of parking would go up 50 percent under a bill approved by the City Council's Budget Committee yesterday.
City officials said the rate hike for city parking meters and municipal parking lots will bring in an additional $2.3 million to strapped city coffers and help to balance the proposed $1.22 billion operating budget now being finalized.
"We can't support to have a cut in services -- it's going to have a detrimental impact on the quality of life for the people of Honolulu. So we need to insure that there's sufficient revenues," said Budget Director Ivan Lui-Kwan, who testified in favor of the increase.
The proposal would raise fees 25 cents to 50 cents an hour for parking meters on city streets and at more than a dozen municipal lots in downtown Honolulu, Waikiki, Kaimuki and Kailua.
The only lot that will likely see a 100 percent increase is the one in Salt Lake, which charges 25 cents for two hours. That's because a 50 percent hike would bring the rate to 38 cents which couldn't be accommodated at the meters which only takes quarters, dimes and nickels.
Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said extra revenue is needed to help fund arbitrated pay raises, offset fee hike for commercial trash disposal at city landfills and other increases to the budget.
"So there's lots to make up. We can't do it all by cuts. We started looking at fees that haven't been increased for over 10 years and then we looked at some of the parking fees," Kobayashi said. "Some of them were very low."
Kobayashi said a 50 percent increase across the board was decided upon to "bring some kind of fairness to the parking."
Kobayashi has already proposed more than $2 million in cuts to help make up the difference.
Kobayashi hopes to put the final touches on the Council's version of the budget by the end of the week.
Ewa Beach residents Daniel and Suzette Cunningham and their children were feeding a parking meter along Punchbowl Street across City Hall yesterday.
They said they don't use metered parking often and wouldn't mind spending an 50 cents an hour -- especially after 10 years without increase.
"It's not too bad," Suzette Cunningham said.
"Better than raising our taxes," her husband chimed in.
The bill goes for a public hearing at a special Council meeting Monday.