Unlike the District, Montgomery County is having no problems raking in parking ticket revenue — and more may be coming.
Montgomery has collected some $8.1 million in ticket revenue so far this fiscal year, said county spokeswoman Esther Bowring, $200,000 more than it expected for all of fiscal 2010. It was a similar deal in 2009, when the county collected $400,000 more than it expected. But parking fines, and parking enforcement staff, have remained constant.
Maryland’s fiscal year runs through June 30, as does Fairfax County’s, which is struggling in the parking ticket category despite raising the fine from $40 to $50. In the fall, the Fairfax Department of Management and Budget reduced its estimate of fine revenue for the year by $700,000 because parking ticket money was not coming in like the county anticipated.
The $10 fine increase was expected to generate an additional $626,000 for Fairfax coffers.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett announced Monday that he’d like to help close his near $800 million budget gap in part with revenues from parking tickets. The cost of a parking ticket would rise by $5 as soon as April with the county council’s approval.
The extra fines and forfeitures will increase revenues by some $719,000 next fiscal year, according to Monday’s budget release.
Authorities in Montgomery also are hoping to raise money from long-term parking. In Bethesda, spaces will cost an extra 10 cents per hour through 2013. In Silver Spring, long-term parking costs will increase 5 cents per hour through each of the next four years.
Staff Writer Bill Myers contributed to this report.
