The cash-strapped city hopes to haul in a record $686 million in parking fines next year in what could become the mother of all ticket blitzes.

Documents released as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s new $59.4 billion budget show that the Finance Department is projecting a $93 million increase in parking-summons revenue over the $593 million expected to come in this fiscal year.

That would be the biggest jump since 2004, when collections soared a staggering $144 million over 2003. It also would be the most money ever taken in. The previous high was $623 million in 2008.

Motorists and their advocates complain the city is going too far.

“We all know what this is about,” said Councilman Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), referring to the city’s desperate need for cash. “Any plan to plug the budget gap with more ticketing is reprehensible.”

Councilman Vincent Gentile (D-Brooklyn) said Mark Page, the city’s budget director, admitted in a briefing that the addition of 220 traffic agents was designed for a singular purpose — to drive up revenue, not to enhance enforcement. “This, to me, is the smoking gun,” Gentile said.

Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx) said constituents are flooding his office with gripes about unfair tickets. “I’ve had people say to me, ‘Mr. Vacca, [the parking agent] stood and waited for my meter to expire.’ I had a person who got a ticket for a tailpipe in a crosswalk,” he said.

A driver challenging her tickets at the Finance Department’s offices in downtown Manhattan provided firsthand evidence of the zealotry of traffic agents.

Judy Campbell said she received a $45 summonses at a meter in Flushing, Queens, at 7:31 a.m. — one minute past the 7:30 a.m. expiration time. “It’s total intolerance,” she said. “It’s a real hunt, a real gotcha.”

(Source: NY Post)