San Diego City Council will consider boosting parking meter rates to $2.50 per hour and extending their hours of use following a 3-2 vote by a council committee Oct. 7. Under the current proposal, meters would also be in use until 11 p.m., including Sundays. Council is expected to hear the proposal in late October or in November. The Budget and Finance Committee voted 3-2 to forward it to council without specifying a recommendation. Dissenting votes were cast by councilmembers Carl DeMaio and Marti Emerald. “This is nothing more than a money grab,” said DeMaio, who represents District 5. “What’s next? Do we put up a parking meter in everyone’s front yard?” Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, who voted for it along with Todd Gloria and Tony Young, said the proposal could also lead to lowering parking meter rates in areas of the city where they are not used very much. A city report claims revenue would increase by $8.6 million over the next three years if it is passed by the City Council. The report also said that solar-powered parking meters are in the near future, and meters would also take prepaid cards, debit and credit cards, eventually making coin-operated meters a thing of the past. The proposal would initiate parking meter time one hour earlier, at 7 a.m., and keep the meters operating until 11 p.m. If adopted, the city would have to hire or transfer workers to enforce parking meter times, as current parking officers do not work past 6 p.m. Having parking meters work on Sundays is also an option. The city’s goal is 85 percent utilization of all meters; the current use of all parking meters is 38 percent. A city report says 72 percent of all meter revenue comes from downtown. The current maximum meter rate is $1.25 an hour, a decision made in 2004.