User-pays parking strategy delivering profitable result for ratepayers

Published on 11 September 2026

Revenue from paid parking is expected to help keep CBD business rates down, with the first two months of income indicating Ōamaru's return to a user-pays parking model is on track to deliver a profit for Council this financial year.

From 1 July 2026, the parking rules in the Ōamaru CBD returned to the user-pays model which was in place before 2020. The first two months of revenue indicate that parking will return a healthy user-pays profit to Council this financial year.

The average monthly revenue for each of July and August has been around $20,000. This indicates it will deliver a projected surplus, with early revenue suggesting at least $240,000 in annual income against around $120,000 in yearly costs for the 2026-27 financial year.

Annual fixed costs for operating the new meters totals $85,000. This includes software licensing, credit card fees and supporting part of the salary of Council’s Locality Officers. Including the annual depreciation for the meters, Council’s total costs are around $120,000 each year.

This means the new parking strategy will result in the first profit from user-pays parking since before free parking was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a sharp turnaround from 2025-26 financial year which saw $69,000 of parking revenue against $121,000 in costs.

During that period from 2020 to 31 June 2026, any deficit in the parking budget not covered by revenue – for repairs, maintenance, or enforcement – would be paid for by ratepayers, rather than the users of the District’s parking.

Council’s revenue and financing policy sets out that any remaining revenue after costs and depreciation will be used to reduce the business rates for those businesses with paid parking outside their premises.

Council has also issued over 650 free parking permits for those over 80, which alongside free parking in paid spaces for those with a Mobility Parking Permit was part of the new CBD Parking Strategy agreed in May 2026.

Council would like to thank all of the locals, and visitors to Ōamaru CBD, who make sure they pay for their parking when using our paid parking spaces. There are also a number of free parking, or time-signed parking spaces available for those that wish to use them.

ENDS

media@waitaki.govt.nz