Cutting car parking in the city centre could lead to council tax rises councillors have been warned.
Parking brings in millions of pounds – from fees and fines – for the local authority every year.
Cllr Pete Kilbane asked if there are plans to “wean” the council off its dependency on the cash it gets from parking. He highlighted plans for York to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Neil Ferris, from the council, said there is not, adding: “The council’s revenue that it gets from car parking is substantial compared to other authorities and that means that the council tax in York stays low.”
He said cutting carbon emissions will not necessarily mean fewer cars – as electric vehicles are available.
The council is expecting car parking income to be down by £3.4 million by the end of the year.
And plans to increase parking costs this year did not go ahead because of the pandemic – leaving an even bigger hole in the budget.
The authority has also lost out on about £380,000 in parking fines.
But a complete review of city centre parking is planned to be carried out by next summer.
Plans for a new multi storey car park to be built at St George’s Field were halted at a planning meeting after some councillors called for the scheme to be paused until the parking review had examined if the spaces will be needed after the pandemic.