The new incremental increases to off-street parking rates will take effect May 1.
On Monday night, city council voted 6-3 to give the first three readings to a new fees and charges bylaw enshrining the new parking prices.
The bylaw amendment will reflect a 25 per cent increase over the 2013 rates for the remainder of 2014 and will institute 15 per cent annual increases for 2015 and 2016.
"It's good that we looked at this again," said Coun. Albert Koehler.
As a part of last July's core services review overview, council initially voted to increase the rates in one lump sum. After the change was finalized in September, however, residents who rent off-street parking spaces were up in arms over the increases, some of which were substantial.
A Feb. 3 motion by councillors Frank Everitt, Lyn Hall and Murry Krause sought to step back from that decision and follow the same process as other fee increases approved during the core review, which was to raise them in stages.
"It's important that we reinvest in infrastructure and that it's an incremental increase," said Coun. Brian Skakun.
But what the city ended up with was a "partly baked plan" said Coun. Dave Wilbur.
"I voted against this because it was a change made on the fly and there was no anticipation of what the impact would be," he said.
Staff have outlined that making the switch will result in an approximate $156,000 shortfall in 2014 budget revenue and shortfalls of $69,000 and $62,000 in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
"It certainly is a better result for some of those who are looking at a larger consequence," Wilbur said. "But from a planning point of view, it doesn't get to where we should be going."
Coun. Cameron Stolz and Mayor Shari Green also voted against the change, citing the need to fund reinvestment and maintenance in the parking structures.
"The challenge is we really do have an infrastructure deficit and the question is are the taxpayers as a whole paying for that or is that going to be the users of the system that are going to be paying for that?" said Stolz. "On this one, if the users of the parkades aren't paying for it, then it's the businesses downtown core that are going to be paying the difference."
The new rates also unravel staff work to streamline the rates, said Green.
"I think we whittled it down from 18 or 22 different lots with different rates and crazy numbers to the penny to five or six different categories - whether you had a plug or didn't, whether you were secure or not, whether you were covered or not," said Green. "It's a much simpler process for the value of the stall you ended up in... and this takes that work and that analysis and undoes it."
Everitt and Hall took umbrage with Wilbur's statement that their initial idea wasn't fully formed.
"Well, I think the other plan was a bit burnt and it raised the ire of the public," Everitt said. "As council we need to take some heat to that when people say you've overstepped your bounds."
"This wasn't done on the fly. It wasn't half baked," added Hall. "It was something that we thought long and hard about."
