MOTORISTS' cash will help Harrow Council spend an extra £1million on services over the next year.
The local authority has more money than it expected for the coming year, thanks to fines and belt-tightening.
Among the services due to receive a surprise cash injection are cultural events, community safety and adult social care.
A total of £1.5m extra income was found washing around the day-to-day revenue accounts at the end of the year.
Tonight (Thursday) the council's cabinet committee is expected to rubber-stamp the exceptional measure of legally carrying forward £1m to the current financial year (2008-09). The extra £0.5m has not been allocated.
The council has raised these funds in a range of ways. Each department has worked to cut costs, and several did not spend all their allocated funds.
Coffers were also boosted through collecting from motoring offences, such as people driving in bus lanes.
The council increased the amount people had to pay in traffic fines during the year and employed a new firm of bailiffs, which recouped more outstanding fines than its predecessors.
In a report to the cabinet the money coming in from parking enforcement income is described as a "windfall".
The extra £1m in cash is to be spend in the following ways:
£200,000 on improving adult social care;
£223,000 on social care training grants;
£86,000 on community safety projects;
£75,000 on cultural events and activities;
£100,000 on training;
£300,000 on special projects and contingencies.
Councillor David Ashton (Conservative), leader of Harrow Council, said: "This budget statement represents excellent progress over the last two years from a position when the council was effectively insolvent.
"But while we have made substantial progress, we aren't there yet. We must continue to build up the provisions and balances we need to get us onto a firmer footing."
Councillor Bill Stephenson, deputy leader of the Labour group, said: "We have always said there was a bit of room in the budgets and that the Conservative administration did not need to do what they did; trying to restrict free adult social care, not planting trees and cutting public realm investment.
"They've got this extra million but they're getting rid of one hour's free parking, which is going to allegedly raise just £15,000 in North Harrow and £22,000 in Wealdstone this year. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. It's bemusing."
