Parking in downtown Sycamore come January? Check the meter or pay a $10 fine, after a penalty hike narrowly passed the Sycamore City Council this week, despite the mayor calling the meters “obsolete.”

In a 4-3 vote, the Council increased the city’s parking ticket late fee from $1 to $10 for those who outstay downtown parking meter limits. The meters are operated with coins.

Sycamore Mayor Steve Braser – who doesn’t vote on City Council items unless there’s a tie – said he thinks raising the metered parking fine from $1 to $10 was “huge” and “hard to justify.” He proposed removing the parking meters altogether.

“It’s not a 9 [a.m.] to 4 [p.m.] town anymore, it’s a 4 to 9 town,” Braser said. “I was a downtown business owner for many years, a lot of you guys know, and I think it has become obsolete. I’ve seen downtowns that have been wrecked because of meters.”

Finance Director Kristian Dominguez proposed increasing the city’s parking ticket fee in a letter addressed to Braser, City Manager Michael Hall and the Council, according to city documents.

The city’s parking enforcement program costs $61,288 per year and currently operates with an annual deficit of $53,788, documents show.

Second Ward Alderman Mike Rodriguez asked city staff to explain the purpose of Sycamore’s parking enforcement program.

Hall said city officials want to encourage the continuous flow of cars parked downtown so that consumers can access businesses more often.

“If we didn’t do that, we’d have people just park there all day long,” Hall said, noting that some people have been doing that regardless of a $1 fine.

Instead, Hall said, those drivers often opt to pay the dollar instead of taking time to insert another dime. But now they’ll face a $10 fine for the same behavior.

First Ward alderpersons Alan Bauer and Alicia Cosky, 3rd Ward Alderwoman Nancy Copple and 4th Ward Alderwoman Virginia Sherrod voted in favor of the fine increase. Second Ward Aldermen Chuck Stowe and Rodriguez, and 3rd Ward Alderman Marvin Barnes, voted no.

Bauer said he’d have stopped the raise at $5, but voted in favor of the $10 fine.

The City Council debate on the matter centered around whether parking meters help or hurt downtown businesses. At one point, the consideration was nearly tabled. But Bauer motioned to keep the meters and approve the fine hike to $10. Cosky seconded, prompting the 4-3 vote.

As a result of the vote, city officials estimate the parking enforcement program will now generate $13,712 in surplus revenue.

During the discussion, Cosky said her opinion on removing parking meters differed from Braser’s.

“If we were to consider taking meters out, then people could park there seven hours or eight hours,” Cosky said. “That would deter me from going downtown, because I know with meters somebody is bound to pull out.”

Earlier, Braser said he wasn’t entirely against parking enforcement, but that people were already deterred from the city’s downtown.

“I do know that people do not come down here for lunch because they worry about the meters,” Braser said. “I do believe that overnight parking still has to be enforced.”

Sycamore motorists should expect $10 parking meter fines to begin on Jan. 1.