Every year, hundreds of thousands of dollars in parking revenue, a majority of which comes from fines, is funneled into the town’s General Fund to be spent in various ways around town — sometimes in ways that may not be immediately visible to the public, such as covering the cost of legal services or other administrative affairs.
An article on the upcoming special Town Meeting warrant, however, aims to change that. The article, proposed by Select Board Chair Matt Taylor, seeks permission for the town to redirect revenue from parking meters, permits, and fines into a fund that benefits the commercial parking districts from which it originates.
“It is allowing us to take revenue from parking, and—rather than putting it into a fund Town Meeting doesn’t see, or the General Fund—to keep it in the neighborhood where the parking happens,” said Taylor.
Taylor is looking to follow the lead of towns like Arlington, where Parking Benefit Districts have already been established. These districts, which have been allowed by the state since 2016, are specific geographic areas from which parking revenue is collected and then reinvested back into that particular area. They were first approved by the state in 2016 and according to the town website, Arlington opted into the program by Town Meeting vote in 2017.
“Arlington shows it’s worked out really well, and Town Meeting appreciates the visibility into the revenues and how [the town is] spending it,” he said.
According to Taylor, after parking costs are covered, the money could be spent on wayfinding signs, lighting or holiday decorations, or infrastructure improvements, such as repaving parking lots and repairs or upgrades to meters.
“It has to be a benefit above and beyond what you would normally provide,” he clarified. For example, street sweeping would not be an eligible expense.
Belmont Center, he said, would be the “obvious place” to begin the transition, given it already has metered parking through kiosks in the Claflin lot and on either side of Leonard Street. The process would require the modernization of the payment system to allow for payment via phone app.
According to Taylor, one benefit of this system is cutting down on tickets and fines so revenue comes primarily from meters instead. This would require the installation of parking meters in Cushing and Waverley squares, where currently there are only signed parking limits.
“The restriction may not match their use, their purpose,” he said. “Allowing me to pay for the time I’m using—it incentivizes people to stop using it when it’s no longer for their purpose.”
In other words, people can pay a meter and add to it if their time in a spot is longer than what they had initially anticipated. In places like Waverley Square and Cushing Square, there is no way to do so, leading people to overstay their time at a parking spot, risking a ticket.
“You need some enforcement,” said Taylor. “The goal is to have the minimum enforcement so you just get the revenue and turnover in parked cars, so you can find spaces and use it when you need it.”
Of the $381,437 in parking revenue collected in fiscal year 2024, $252,035 came from fines, according to the town. Roughly $68,000 and $61,400 came from meter and permit fees, respectively.
Dating back to fiscal 2007, fines have accounted for a significant portion of parking revenue each fiscal year, according to historical parking receipt data. Preliminary data for fiscal 2025—which lasts from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025—shows a continuation of that trend, with $48,308 coming from meter fees, $76,390 in permit fees, and $300,876 in parking violation fines for a total of $425,574.
“I think people will feel better about paying fees if they understand where it’s going and why,” said Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne.
Data Breakdown
In the 2024 calendar year, 42% of all parking citations were for overnight parking violations, according to Interim Police Chief Mark Hurley. In Belmont, all overnight street parking is prohibited.
In total, 5,001 overnight citations were issued last year, according to data from the department. Of the $148,140 owed—which includes the fine plus any late fees—$126,595 has been paid, according to data provided by the Police Department.
Though overnight parking is prohibited on all streets in town, it is allowed in municipal lots in Waverley Square, Claflin Street in Belmont Center, and at the Beech Street Center, provided vehicles are removed by 7 a.m., according to information on the Parking Clerk’s page on the town website. School buildings are also open for overnight parking, but vehicles must be removed by 7 a.m.
At 31% of all citations, meter violations were the second most common citation in 2024. A total of $94,615 in fines have been paid; $84,795 remains to be paid, according to police data.
Other citations with far fewer reported infractions include parking in a bus stop, on a crosswalk, or in a fire lane; parking too far from the curb or within 20 feet from an intersection, or parking within 10 feet of a fire hydrant.
Hurley noted that the Police Department only issues the citations, it does not handle the collection of fines.
