NIU’s campus parking committee has added funds to its budget for the hiring of an additional ticket agent due to the addition of campus parking spaces.

Lynn Fraser, campus parking manager, said the committee has approved the budget for the next fiscal year and the budget recommendation now goes to James Harder, vice president of business and operations.

Fraser said the new ticket agent will be a civil service employee hired by the NIU personnel department. The job will be a nine-month position and the agent will be paid between $5 and $6 an hour, she said.

She said changes in the loading and service space have been recommended and will need “an extra parking enforcement person. The increase in enforcement hopefully will deter the illegal parking.”

Shey Lowman, chairman of the parking procedures committee, said another reason for an additional ticket agent is because members of the parking appeals committee said that ticketing has been inconsistent.

“The addition (to the budget) is to provide more service. The addition is not a waste of everyone’s money because they will catch more violators,” Loman said.

Dave Emerick, Student Association Mass Transit Board chairman and committee member, said a student should be selected as a ticket agent.

“Some members feel that students have time conflicts due to school work,” he said, adding this is a reason why the parking committee is hesitant to consider a student for the job. “Some members of the committee feel that the student members are there to only be an advocate of the student,” he said.

“We are not there to wave an SA banner. We’re there to represent community and student rights,” he said.