Wheres the money gone ?

[noddyaccount]

Please can someone explain where all the money collected by the councils for parking fines that was to be used for road maintenance has gone ? We are told that fines pay for this so why are the councils whining about the cost of gritting and potholes , perhaps the fines should be increased .

[dpick]

Better way don't vote for sitting councillors.

 

dpick

[green_and_mean]

Please can someone explain where all the money collected by the councils for parking fines that was to be used for road maintenance has gone ? We are told that fines pay for this so why are the councils whining about the cost of gritting and potholes , perhaps the fines should be increased .

 

If you knew how much it cost to maintain the roads you would realise the contribution towards it from parking fines is a drop in the ocean.

[noddyaccount]

If you knew how much it cost to maintain the roads you would realise the contribution towards it from parking fines is a drop in the ocean.

 

Is it that frozen drop thats causing all the potholes and chaos?

[green_and_mean]

When water gets in cracks in the road and freezes it expands causing the road to break up. For cold weather the Council obviously allows for an average amount of bad weather with a contingency for emegencies but prolonged bad weather has to come out of Council reserve funds. If you bring Parking revenue in to the equation obviously during this period income from both paid for parking and fines is minimal and staff still need to be paid which add to the burden on an already tight budget.

[noddyaccount]

When water gets in cracks in the road and freezes it expands causing the road to break up. For cold weather the Council obviously allows for an average amount of bad weather with a contingency for emegencies but prolonged bad weather has to come out of Council reserve funds. If you bring Parking revenue in to the equation obviously during this period income from both paid for parking and fines is minimal and staff still need to be paid which add to the burden on an already tight budget.

 

I was told that the reason potholes 'pop' was that contractors no longer use Hot tar to seal the infill , as was the case in days of old.

You know and i know from previous chats that some councils make substantial profits from parking revenue . If those councils were to be short of grit or whine about potholes with their expanded cash sums that would be in excusable IMO .

[Jamberson]

Please can someone explain where all the money collected by the councils for parking fines that was to be used for road maintenance has gone ? We are told that fines pay for this so why are the councils whining about the cost of gritting and potholes , perhaps the fines should be increased .

 

If you write to your local council they will give you figures as to how much revenue they gain from parking and where it is spent.

 

To be honest, it won't change anything except satisfy your curiosity.

 

Trouble is, lots of people have, for years now, been quite against any rises in taxtation, and begrudged paying tax at all. Yet they also want super public services. It will take a really radical shift in government priorities to change the situation, and that's not likely in the near future.

[green_and_mean]

I was told that the reason potholes 'pop' was that contractors no longer use Hot tar to seal the infill , as was the case in days of old.

You know and i know from previous chats that some councils make substantial profits from parking revenue . If those councils were to be short of grit or whine about potholes with their expanded cash sums that would be in excusable IMO .

 

The vast majority of Councils don't make a noticeable profit from parking many barely break even. Usually the figures quoted are income which as most people with half a brain would realise is not the same. I live in Surrey and along with 99 other local authorities make an operating loss on parking. Iin 2007/08 Surrey in fact lost £776,000 before capital expenditure and £2,012,000 if you include capital expenditure as they see parking as a service. Strangely these figures are not usually in the papers as they would probably not sell as many copies as 'millions fined by thieving Councils'.

[noddyaccount]

The vast majority of Councils don't make a noticeable profit from parking many barely break even. Usually the figures quoted are income which as most people with half a brain would realise is not the same. I live in Surrey and along with 99 other local authorities make an operating loss on parking. Iin 2007/08 Surrey in fact lost £776,000 before capital expenditure and £2,012,000 if you include capital expenditure as they see parking as a service. Strangely these figures are not usually in the papers as they would probably not sell as many copies as 'millions fined by thieving Councils'.

 

Thats why I said 'some' councils , mostly the London ones make massive profits e.g,Westminster , Camden , Hammersmith and Fulham and a Surrey one Richmond ,just some examples , they have no excuses as we well know .

Edited January 13, 2010 by noddyaccount

[asmodeus]

If you knew how much it cost to maintain the roads you would realise the contribution towards it from parking fines is a drop in the ocean.

 

The Road Fund License fee should cover it with cash to spare but of course Brown and his motley crew need it to cover their expenses

[green_and_mean]

The Road Fund License fee should cover it with cash to spare but of course Brown and his motley crew need it to cover their expenses

 

Totally ridiculous statement when you consider how much is spent on roads, as an example just to widen the M25 at jct 10 in 2007 cost £75 million. There are 240,000 miles of local roads. You would need around 180,000 tonnes of salt to grit them all once (assuming a rate of 0.75 tonnes per mile). As it costs in the region of £25-£30 per tonne of salt, it would therefore cost around £5m to grit all the roads once and £15m to grit them three times. Currently, councils only grit around 40% of local roads (96,000 miles) during severe weather. It would therefore cost £1.8m to grit all 96,000 miles once.

[noddyaccount]

Totally ridiculous statement when you consider how much is spent on roads, as an example just to widen the M25 at jct 10 in 2007 cost £75 million. There are 240,000 miles of local roads. You would need around 180,000 tonnes of salt to grit them all once (assuming a rate of 0.75 tonnes per mile). As it costs in the region of £25-£30 per tonne of salt, it would therefore cost around £5m to grit all the roads once and £15m to grit them three times. Currently, councils only grit around 40% of local roads (96,000 miles) during severe weather. It would therefore cost £1.8m to grit all 96,000 miles once.

 

Westmiser council alone made 90 million pounds from parking last year , more than enough .

Think of the savings to the economy as a whole , lost productivity etc, lost wages , lost parking revenue to the councils themselves , not to mention the cost in lives and injuries.

It is a short sighted false economy , from the people who are meant to serve us , not themselves , the public servants have been at their masters drinks cabinets again .

Edited January 13, 2010 by noddyaccount

[Jamberson]

Westmiser council alone made 90 million pounds from parking last year

 

Just did a quick look on Google out of curiosity.

 

Annual Parking Report 2009

 

Westminster declared surpluss (profit) of around £35m last year.

[green_and_mean]

Westmiser council alone made 90 million pounds from parking last year , more than enough .

Think of the savings to the economy as a whole , lost productivity etc, lost wages , lost parking revenue to the councils themselves , not to mention the cost in lives and injuries.

It is a short sighted false economy , from the people who are meant to serve us , not themselves , the public servants have been at their masters drinks cabinets again .

 

I don't think Westminster will be sending money to Barnsley to pay for gritting somehow. Its curious how Westminster is always trotted out as an 'example' of how much Councils make from parking when its location and use make it far from typical. I'm sure Councils are aware of the loss to the economy but I doubt if they enable Sainsbury etc to open they will get anything from Sainsbury to pay for the grit. You obviously have no understanding of how Councils are funded, I'm sure when Libraries, Schools, Social care are all cut next year because you've blown the entire budget on two weeks gritting you would reconsider your point of view. In order to grit all roads rather than just main roads would cost an additional £425 million do you really want that on your Council tax bill? Most accidents are from pedestrians falling over which has nothing to do with gritting roads and to grit footways would cost £600 million. I'm sure if your Council tax bill goes up 25% you will be happy because you know you could still drive to the shops in the snow.

[noddyaccount]

I don't think Westminster will be sending money to Barnsley to pay for gritting somehow. Its curious how Westminster is always trotted out as an 'example' of how much Councils make from parking when its location and use make it far from typical. I'm sure Councils are aware of the loss to the economy but I doubt if they enable Sainsbury etc to open they will get anything from Sainsbury to pay for the grit. You obviously have no understanding of how Councils are funded, I'm sure when Libraries, Schools, Social care are all cut next year because you've blown the entire budget on two weeks gritting you would reconsider your point of view. In order to grit all roads rather than just main roads would cost an additional £425 million do you really want that on your Council tax bill? Most accidents are from pedestrians falling over which has nothing to do with gritting roads and to grit footways would cost £600 million. I'm sure if your Council tax bill goes up 25% you will be happy because you know you could still drive to the shops in the snow.

 

£ 425 million a year , not taking into account council parking excess would be less than £50/year per household . Losses to the ecomomy are much more than that , maybe central Govt should cover any shortfall .

As for the Council funding i advocate a cull of management types or target pathfinders as I imagine they are called , press officers and other overpaid executives a.s.a.p . Why do hospitals , sorry health trusts whatever the imagineers call them today{sack them too } , need press officers for example , are Doctors not able to talk . Sack all 'spin doctors' {paid liars}, I am sorry if you come into any of the above categories , but not very much .

[Steve__M]

If there are no "management types" who will buy the grit, ensure it is delivered, ensure that the gritters are ready to go at the right time, ensure that the gritting has been done, and deal with the no-win-no-fee lawyers when the injury claims for people slipping over start coming in.

 

Yes, get rid of press officers. My company are currently under siege because the press officer said something that the company experts told them not to say

[noddyaccount]

If there are no "management types" who will buy the grit, ensure it is delivered, ensure that the gritters are ready to go at the right time, ensure that the gritting has been done, and deal with the no-win-no-fee lawyers when the injury claims for people slipping over start coming in.

 

Yes, get rid of press officers. My company are currently under siege because the press officer said something that the company experts told them not to say

Keep the managers in the old true sense of the word , absolutely , people who lead preferably by example and even better who have come up through the ranks and know the work they are directing . I meant get rid of the quangocrats , performance junkies and fast track graduate graspers out to make their bones .

[68904]

Hey up lad, barnsla az spent loads on its brass gettin its lines a sign reight, but if tha guz to co-op i penistone them bayz ant painted reight on't rooad, same es them isdabled bays darn frum t'arnall.We ad jcb art yisterday on old goods yard, ar cant mak me mind up if 'wor fer safti or sozs the cud get the brass in ont park wots tha recon?

[noddyaccount]

Hey up lad, barnsla az spent loads on its brass gettin its lines a sign reight, but if tha guz to co-op i penistone them bayz ant painted reight on't rooad, same es them isdabled bays darn frum t'arnall.We ad jcb art yisterday on old goods yard, ar cant mak me mind up if 'wor fer safti or sozs the cud get the brass in ont park wots tha recon?

 

Penistone every time , I think ?