Victoria is dropping its $1-million-a-year contract with the Corps of Commissionaires to provide the city’s parking police, replacing them with new in-house, unionized employees to be called “parking ambassadors.”

“It will set a new tone,” said Mayor Lisa Helps of the change, which takes effect Jan. 1.

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“It will really add to the downtown viability and vibrancy.”

The kinder, gentler service will cost about the same as — “maybe a little bit more” — than contracting to the Commissionaires, Helps said. The city plans to hire 20 to 25 full- and part-time “parking ambassadors” who will have to take part in a comprehensive customer-service training program run in co-operation with downtown businesses.

Helps conceded it’s not easy to make someone feel good while issuing them a parking ticket, but she said issuing tickets will represent a fraction of the job.

“These people will still be handing out tickets and the people who are getting them probably won’t feel good, but the value-add is immeasurable. We’ll have people out there as City of Victoria ambassadors. If someone is confused and looking at their map, they’ll help them. If somebody wants to know how to cancel their parking ticket or challenge it, [they’ll help]. … What we’ll have on the street is a fleet of ambassadors,” Helps said.

The decision to bring parking enforcement in-house is a win for CUPE Local 50, marking the first new unionized work in the city in more than 20 years, said union president John Burrows.

“We’re excited and it’s been a very positive process that we’ve been involved in the last couple of months,” Burrows said.

Wages for the new employees are still being negotiated. Burrows expects they will be in the $19-an-hour range.

The Corps of Commissionaires, a not-for-profit organization with a mandate to create employment for veterans and other Canadians of good character, has had the parking-enforcement contract with Victoria for about 50 years.

“I’m not sure we know what’s going to be different with these folks than what has traditionally been done,” said Capt. John Dewer, CEO of Corps of Commissionaires, Victoria, the Islands and Yukon Division. “I think they can put ‘parking ambassador’ on uniforms, but it’s not going to make anyone feel any better about getting a ticket.”

Dewer said the city is encouraging Commissionaires already doing parking enforcement to apply for the new parking ambassador positions.

“So from our point of view, if we can transition those folks into jobs with the city that are going to pay much better wages and benefits than we can afford to pay, then mission accomplished,” Dewer said.

Bruce Carter, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce CEO, hopes there will be no increase in costs to the city, but he has his doubts, noting that moving parking duties in-house creates fixed overhead. Once it’s made a city function, there may be no turning back.

“It will be a real struggle to do that at the same cost they were contracting it out at,” Carter said.

“I will be pleasantly surprised if they can do it.”

Burrows said costs are manageable.

“The overhead for this new group of employees is essentially already in place. It’s going to be encompassed under a department that already exists and management that already exists. The office space already exists. So it seems to me, it’s a great thing to bring it in-house,” Burrows said.

It also provides quality control that currently isn’t there, he said.

Carter said anybody issuing parking tickets is facing a difficult job. “It’s going to be difficult to turn that from enforcement to ambassador,” he said.

“The concept of customer service, and trying to create a pleasant customer experience when you’re issuing fines, really are not compatible.”

Parking is big business in Victoria, generating about $16 million a year in gross revenues.

bcleverley@timescolonist.com