The city has lost about $366,000 in camping permit fee revenues because it installed an online camping system last March that is not capable of collecting fees, according to an audit of the Department of Parks and Recreation’s camping operations.

City Auditor Edwin Young also concluded that because the camping permit fees, approved by the City Council last year and enacted as an ordinance on June 21, 2011, are to be deposited into the general fund rather than an account dedicated to repairs, the Parks Department has yet to create a plan to make improvements to the camping program.

The audit said the fees could be going toward security and improvements at camping facilities.

Furthermore, the audit said, "administrative and convenience fees may be excessive and need to be justified before they are charged to the public."

Parks Director Gary Cabato was out of town and unvailable for comment Monday.

City spokeswoman Louise Kim McCoy said in an email that the administration set up the online camping registration and laid "the groundwork to generate revenue from camping fees in the future." The city, she said, "remains committed to providing safe and clean camping facilities during fiscally tough times."

A response from the administration to the audit said the fee proposal is in the hands of city attorneys and will soon go out for public hearings.

The online camping permit system allows people to sign up for designated campsites at 14 beach parks and three sites at Hoo­malu­hia Botanical Garden. After registering on the website by providing a full name, address, phone numbers, an email address and a password, would-be campers may select any available campsite, indicated by a green circle.

Once agreeing to park rules, the registrant gets an online permit to print out.

At no time does the website ask for any payment.

The ordinance enacted by the city includes a fee schedule that charges $5 a day for campsites holding up to five people, $10 a day for campsites holding up to 10 people, $75 a day for campsites holding up to 60 people, $125 a day for campsites holding up to 100 people and $312.50 a day for campsites holding up to 250 people.

But the audit took issue with the fee structure, saying the fees "and the department’s interpretation of those fees are contrary and need to be reconciled."

The report also said the department’s estimates for camping program costs, revenues and assumptions are inaccurate.

Operating costs were estimated by the administration to be at $1.3 million, but the auditor’s calculations showed an overstating of costs by $244,538. Revenues, meanwhile, were estimated to be $354,000, but the auditor calculated revenues at $13,000 more.

Council Chairman Ernie Martin, in an emailed statement, said he concurred with the findings in the auditor’s report, requested by the Council.

Martin said he is "disappointed" that the city has not yet collected any revenues.

"The failure to collect the fees is a function of a delay in the rule-making process," Martin said.

The administration, in its response to the audit, said the ordinance specifically states that funds collected go into the camping revenue account of the general fund.