Trim to follow Navan lead with outsourced traffic wardens

Meath County Council has confirmed that new outsourced traffic wardens will take over the policing of paid parking in Trim from tomorrow (Wednesday).
After months of speculation that parking in Trim would change to the model adopted in Navan last year, it was finally confirmed to local councillors at their monthly meeting on Friday. Traffic wardens will no longer be directly employed by the Council and will be provided by a contractor.
The Council was keen to stress that parking is not being privatised and will still be managed by the local authority. The existing service will not change and the by-laws and rates remain the same.
It was confirmed that the contract has been awarded for a six month basis. Senior Executive Officer Dara McGowan said: “This is isn’t target based contract. It is a time based contract. Whether one or 100 tickets are issued, they get the same. There is no incentive to look for as much non compliance as possible. It is about improving parking and the traffic flow in town.”
He said the change was not about making a profit but about increasing compliance and turnover of spaces and that it has been a success in Navan where compliance had gone from 35 per cent to 90 per cent and the turnover of spaces went from three per day to six per day.
Councillors expressed their frustrations at not being told sooner. “It is very late in the day for us to have any credibility with our constituents when something is agreed in the council on Friday and is coming in on Wednesday,” said Cllr Caroline Lynch.
Cllr French said he would have appreciated the information months ago.
Responding, Mr McGowan said they were dealing with staff and unions and didn't want to go public until it was decided. 
Meanwhile Meath County Council is currently reviewing options for the future provision of the traffic warden service in Kells. 
Officials confirmed to Cllr Sean Drew that options for the delivery and operation of the service on the ground are currently being examined as part of an ongoing review of Meath County Council’s service provision, as the Council is committed to providing efficient, fair, and value for money services.”