Council schedules public hearing for EV-charging rule changes, councilors ask for adjustments to fees and enforcement

The council took a first reading of amendments to EV-charging rules that would charge 35¢ per kilowatt-hour for city garage chargers, exempt overnight charging from the daytime 4‑hour limit, and impose an overstay fee (proposed $2 per hour) plus a $50 citation for repeat or noncompliant parking. Steve Malagoti, a downtown resident who uses the Roy Garage chargers, praised the reforms as fair but urged modernization of older chargers to increase output and recommended software changes to allow monthly-parking customers to use underutilized garages.

Councilors asked the administration to reconsider a $50 enforcement citation as potentially punitive in addition to the per-hour fee and to clarify that certain stations (e.g., 1365 Middlesex Street) are for city use only. Parking staff said they would review enforcement levels and consider reducing the fine; the council asked for a follow-up in three weeks and scheduled the public hearing for Dec. 2.