Parramatta Advertiser, 8 October 2009

By Di Bartok

PARKING officers are set to become city ambassadors in Parramatta in a major turnaround of their role.

It is all about goodwill over revenue-grabbing, Lord Mayor Paul Garrard told the Advertiser.

Under the proposed changes, parking officers will be renamed community safety officers - the “human face of council”, Cr Garrard said.

“They will not be just issuing fines but will be there to address all sorts of concerns of people, especially relating to safety,” Cr Garrard said.

“This could be anything from seeing a dog wandering around to reporting a piece of infrastructure that needs fixing. They are really going to be more ambassadors, wandering around the streets more, not just writing fines.”

And, when it comes to issuing fines, the officers will be given more discretion, especially when confronted with a motorist who feels he or she has a case for parking overtime or in the wrong place.

At stake is a $5 million a year revenue in fines but Cr Garrard said revenue-raising had to take a back seat to serving the community.

“We just want more rangers out there, looking after the safety of people and being ambassadors, the face of council,” he said.

There even will be a change of uniform.

“I want to get them into tailored pants with a jacket, and do away with the leather jacket and badge,” Cr Garrard said.

But Cr Garrard is also concerned with the officers’ safety.

He flatly refused to take on a suggestion by police that rangers could confiscate alcohol from drinkers in alcohol-free zones.

“Some of our rangers are women and I don’t like the idea of them telling a couple of big men to move on,” Cr Garrard said.

“But we need to work with police on this to see how these zones can be patrolled.”

The council is also considering changing its enforcement policy to give fined motorists a chance to appeal before a panel of three which will include a community representative, rather than have the matter dealt with by the State Debt Recovery Office.

Both draft policies are now on public exhibition.