LEWISTON – Parking fees and fines would make up the difference for level property taxes, according to a city plan.

Fines for exceeding time in posted spaces would triple from $5 to $15 and fines for double parking and illegal overnight parking would quadruple from $5 to $20, according to City Administrator Jim Bennett. Hourly fees at city parking garages would go up from 50 cents to 75 and parking meter fees would double from 25 cents to 50.

In all the, changes would bring in about $189,000 in new revenue, Bennett said. That revenue, insurance savings and other policy changes would let the city pass a budget without increasing taxes for fiscal 2005. Bennett and the council have been reviewing the budget since April, trying to erase a potential 55 cents tax rate boost.

“I got you to zero,” Bennett said. “The way I did, there’s enough in there for everybody. You all got something you’re going to like and you all got something you’ll really dislike.”

Councilor Stavros Mendros said the proposed fines are too steep.

“That’s a really big jump on some of these,” Mendros said. “I don’t have a problem with increasing overnight parking fines from $5 to $10, but you’re quadrupling it.”

A majority of councilors said they like the new fees and would vote to include it in the budget.

“Where are you going, Councilor Mendros?” asked Councilor Mark Paradis. “You’ve said you didn’t want to raise taxes, and here’s how we do it. You can’t have both sides of the street.”

Bennett said the city would try to soften the new fines. Parking in city garages would be free for the first hour and the city would continue forgiving the first parking ticket.

“Of course, everybody says new fines would hurt business,” Bennett said. “I think these might help business, by freeing up some parking spaces for paying customers and giving people an hour to park and shop for free.”

The new budget also includes $313,000 in school department savings. The school committee approved its budget in March with higher workers compensation requirements and health insurance costs. Both have come down. It also includes $190,000 less state aid then first budgeted, however.

Councilors met in executive session for two hours to discuss upcoming labor negotiations. Five city union contracts will expire this year, and Bennett said he needed to brief councilors about how those contracts would affect the budget.

“They just needed an opportunity to ask some legal strategy-type questions,” Bennett said.

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