Council chiefs have confessed to making a loss from issuing parking fines to motorists. St Albans City and District Council (SADC) revealed that it spent £38k more on employing parking wardens than it recouped in penalty fines last year.
The council spent a whopping £774k on Civil Enforcement Officers in 2023/2024, but only managed to earn £736k from “Penalty Charge Notices” (PCNs).
Despite the number of PCNs issued increasing by 27 per cent to 22,769, and income rising by 20 per cent to £736,730, the costs still outweighed the earnings.
This increase in costs is mirrored by a significant rise in the number of hours worked by officers, from 1,053 per month in the last quarter of 2019 to 1,584 per month in Q3 of 2024 – a jump of over 50 per cent.
The new Conservative leader for St Albans district, Cllr Matt Cowley, released this information ahead of tonight’s (February 26) council meeting.
He commented: “I think residents will be shocked to learn that the council’s mismanagement means we are paying more for people to issue parking fines than bringing through the fines themselves.
“It’s a real failure, and one for which residents are paying the price. The community deserve better.”
Cllr Cowley has also recently initiated a Conservative-led campaign demanding the cancellation of Harpenden parking charges. SADC is expected to respond directly tonight.
