The Austin City Council is considering raising the overtime parking fine from $5 to $10 to compensate for a new state surcharge of $3 for every parking ticket issued.

But downtown business owners say the fine needs to be raised for other reasons.

Mike Robbins of Robbins Furniture would like the fine raised to $25 to further deter people from parking past their two-hour limit.

Since the parking enforcement officer retired, the Austin Police Department is ticketing overtime parkers when time permits. Downtown business owners say parking limits are not being enforced as thoroughly as they were when the parking enforcement officer was working.

Because of the recent budget cuts, however, hiring another enforcement officer isn't feasible.

Parking fines in larger cities are much more than $10 or even $25, making $5 seem like pocket change.

Which is why raising it to at least $10 will make the rule more effective. People will be more willing to move their cars after their two hours are up if they faced a parking fine more severe than five bucks.

For those that work downtown, there are 12-hour parking lots that are rarely as full as the street during the workday. A short walk is a small price to pay for avoiding a parking ticket.

People are less likely to shop downtown if they assume they won't find a parking spot near a certain business. In order to keep the downtown thriving, those spots needs to be there.

Raising the fine will make drivers think twice before leaving their vehicles in a two-hour spot for the entire day.