Paid parking and private enforcement: Kempsey Council will crack down on illegal camping at a $700,000+ cost

For years, residents in Kempsey Shire’s beachside towns have complained to council about illegal camping – particularly in carparks and streets. 

Fed up with vans parked overnight or motor homes taking up street spaces, these frustrated residents might be one step closer to seeing a change – but not without a hefty cost to council – as councillors endorsed an action plan on September 16 to solve the issue despite financial concerns.

❌ Why can’t council rangers do more?

Currently, there’s a lack of parking and camping enforcement on council land. The enforcement of these regions is not seen as a priority in these areas, as it is “usually not matters of life and death”.

Rangers also do not have the powers to move people on and are only able to issue a fine by collecting information from campers beyond vehicle registration. 

“Securing personal details from the sleeping occupants of a locked van at night is not straightforward” said a report to council.

📕What’s the Action Plan, exactly?

The audit: Phase one of the plan includes an audit of existing parking restrictions and development of a plan for time limited parking, as well as an analysis for signage.

What’s the cost to council? $130,000 operating costs and $20,000 in capital.

Education: An educational program involving community meetings, a social media campaign, and local information on the impact of illegal parking will also be implemented.

What’s the cost to council? $5,000 operating plus $2,500 capital.

Enforcement: Finally, council has proposed introducing pay by phone parking, as well as outsourcing the enforcement of illegal camping and parking in a one year trial. The introduced enforcement would undertake management of complaints and appeals, and reporting to council.

What’s the cost to council? $600,000 for outsourcing (subject to procurement) along with $25,000 operating costs, including contract management.

🗣️ Kempsey Shire Council CEO, Andrew Meddle, said the contract for the private company that runs the enforcement service would be an annual fee and that there will likely be ongoing costs for council for contract management. 

The project is unfunded, and the level of income, from both fines and car parking charges, to offset this is unknown.

A report stressed to council that councillors consider “the potential on-going financial impost this project is likely to have at a time when the second part of a Special Rate Variation (SRV) has not been endorsed – and when austerity measures are required for the benefit of everyone in the Shire.”

🎙️The debate

Councillor Dean Saul voted against the plan, stating the council was supposed to be reviewing its finances with the objective of cutting costs. 

“I think the community expects us to be more mindful of our spending and to be more prudent,” he said.

Councillor Noel Selby voted for the plan, saying it was “long over needed, especially in the busier times, [including] Christmas holidays, long weekend towards the warmer weather.”

While Cr Adam Matchett said he has “great sympathy for the people of Crescent Head and South West Rocks”, he does not believe the plan is a cost-effective way to solve the issue.

Mayor Kinne Ring did not support the recommendation, keeping financial sustainability at the fore.

“While there is no doubt from the representations made from CHRARA [Crescent Head Residents and Ratepayers Association] and the speakers last night [at the public forum] that there is a feeling of angst in the community of the people illegally camping, this council has made a really big commitment to financial sustainability,” Ring said.

“Within that is the fact that we have, at the moment, an operating deficit. And to add over a quarter of a million dollars into the budget, which would undoubtedly take away another service that our community has asked for, is something that I am not willing to do”.

🗳️ The vote: The motion was carried 6-3.

🗒️ What next?

The council’s CEO, Andrew Meddle, has been instructed to seek potential private contracting options and to bring the results of a future council meeting for a decision.