“We’ve noticed an increase in app and paywave paying. Under the old regime, it was pretty much all coins,” Shailer said.
Councillor Rob Vinsen said one issue in Whanganui was the inability to transfer time paid to different parking zones.
He asked Shailer if there was “a technical way” to make it happen.
Shailer said council officers had explored crossing zones but it couldn’t be done.
“The other way of thinking is that you might pay a lower amount in one zone, then jump in your car and zoom over to a higher (cost) one. It goes both ways.
“If you look at (Victoria) Ave, you can pay in block 1 and have a field day in the other three blocks on the Ave - not a problem.”
Deputy mayor Helen Craig said zoning issues could be fixed if parking costs were the same across the entire CBD.
It costs $1 per hour to park on Drews Ave, Maria Place, Ridgway St, Taupō Quay, St Hill St, Watt St, and along inner-city side streets.
On Victoria Ave, it costs $1 per 30 minutes.
Off-street public car parks on Moutoa Quay, Drews Ave, Ingestre St and St Hill St cost 50 cents per hour.
Privately owned car parking facilities include Trafalgar Square, The Mad Butcher / Pizza Hut, PAK’nSAVE, Countdown and New World.
The council doesn’t issue tickets at those locations.
Animal management pulled in $223,516 from July 1 to September 30, almost $60,000 more than expected.
Shailer said there seemed to be more dogs in the district and that meant more work.
Despite a slight drop in building consent applications, there were still far more than the council was resourced for, he said.
Whanganui was doing better than other parts of the country, where there had been “quite significant drop-offs” in consent applications.
Revenue from building control ($425,162) and planning ($130,498) were both higher than expected.
“That means there is still stuff happening, which is excellent, but it’s still a hell of a workload for the guys,” Shailer said.
“We are still struggling to recruit senior planning staff, so that’s why we are outsourcing.
“We have been recruiting for a very long time and have had no success. That is a risk in terms of the cost of getting the work done.”
Overall, council expenses across the five sectors (building control, planning, parking, animal management and environmental health) came in $26,961 under budget for the first quarter of the financial year.
Environmental health revenue of $54,178 was down on the $66,675 expected.
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
