AUBURN – Metered parking along several streets downtown is worth considering, councilors said Monday.

Councilors reviewed a plan to put meters on 216 parking spaces in downtown lots and along some streets at a workshop meeting. Parking in those spaces would cost 25 cents per half hour, according to police Chief Phil Crowell.

“But we’ve only looked at the revenue and what we would need to bring this in,” Crowell said. “What we have not done is consider if this is something we want for our city. Is this an appropriate thing for us to do?”

With councilors nodding their approval, Crowell said the next step is to present the idea to downtown business owners and residents to gauge their opinion.

Crowell’s plan would put meters along Main Street south of Court Street, along Turner Street in front of the Androscoggin County Courthouse, on Court Street between Pleasant Street and Mechanics Row and in the Main Street parking lot.

In the parking lot, the city would use parking kiosks. A single kiosk would serve several spaces.

Crowell estimated the cost to install 216 meters at $90,000. Additional salaries for parking enforcement officers would cost $45,500, a vehicle would cost $16,000 and annual maintenance and repairs would cost $6,000. In all, the program would cost $216,000 for the first year, $66,000 for the second year and $75,600 per year after that.

He estimated the meters would generate $129,000 per year in revenue when the program gets going, after at least a year. He estimated the meters would pay for themselves beginning in the third year.

“We haven’t included additional revenue from violations in these calculations, either,” he said. “We’ve left those right where they are now.”

In October, police issued 40 parking citations in the area of Turner Street and Court Street, a decrease of 20 from the same time in 2007.

The city does not have parking meters, but does have time limits on some lots. Those limits range from a half-an-hour to two hours.