It took considerable discussion about its user fees before council’s ad hoc budget committee approved a full slate of fees with some going up and some remaining at par with last year’s fees.
After two-and-a-half hours of discussion on Monday evening, the fees were approved and will go on to council at its next meeting for final approval. If approved, the fees will become part of the final preparations for the city’s 2018 budget.
The city’s user fees include charges related to use of municipally-operated facilities, including the arena, pool, civic centre, dump, cemetery and landfill site by the public. Discussion on fees paid by users of the city’s bus service was put aside pending a transportation study expected later this year.
Only Councillor Chris Patrie voted against approving the user fee schedule with Mayor Dan Marchisella and councillors Connie Nykyforak, Tammy VanRoon, Norman Mann and Ed Pearce voting in favour. Councillor Luc Cyr was absent from Monday evening’s budget discussions.
The ad hoc meeting was chaired by Coun. Mann who said he was hopeful the fee schedule could be approved to allow city staff to move ahead with preparing the 2018 budget.
Deputy treasurer Tim Vine told committee members that the user fee schedule presented saw some fees not being increased while others saw a sizeable hike. He noted that many of the fees have not been increased in a “significant period of time”. The deputy treasurer also added comments in the most recent report on user fees to explain why increases should be considered.
“What I would suggest going forward is that we adopt a more gradual change to the user fees,” he said, referring to sizeable increases being proposed due to fees having remained the same for several years. He added, gradual fee increases would be in line to help cover increased costs “the city experiences.”
Coun. Patrie voiced concern about the fee schedule put together by city staff.
“I disagree with the motion put forward to approve this bylaw (fee schedule),” he said “I believe it’s got to go back. There’s inconsistencies across the board. Every department has different prices and it should be consistent.”
The councillor said fees should be higher and based on cost recovery for facility rentals or fees for services charged by different departments.
“If we’re going to increase rates we increase them the same across the board,” Coun. Patrie said when reviewing different percentage increases to fees at the arena which he maintains are “all over the map”.
“If we’re going to increase we increase everything across the board,” he added.
“If things are not changing we’re not recovering our costs.”
Director of community services Wendy Rowland said the differences in fees are, at times, based on wanting users to purchase a pass rather than one-time use. She added, some of the fees are not intended to make a profit particularly with user fee charges at the civic centre.
She added the user fee costs, particularly in the case of the theatre at the civic centre, were also provided by staff and were meant to be competitive on similar costs charged by other area municipalities.
“If things aren’t changing we're not recuperating our costs,” Coun. Patrie said. responding to a $40 hourly charge proposed for rehearsals at the theatre with $13.60 charge for subsequent hours.
“Councillor Patrie believes in full recovery at all costs,” Coun. Ed Pearce said.
“What we’re talking about is do we subsidize the arts? The rates that are being charged are reasonable. The arts should be subsidized by the community, that’s why we’re here.”
“The municipality, we’re not a for profit organization,” the mayor said, referring to Coun. Patrie’s contention of full cost recovery on the size of user fees.
The intent of the proposed fees is to promote the use of facilities owned and operated by the city, the mayor indicated.
After the user fee schedule was approved, Vine told councillors the decision means that the tax levy increase is sitting at about 7.1 percent and would require further cuts in the operating and capital side to come within a budget increase of 1.5 to 2.5 the majority of councillors are looking for.
The next budget meeting is set for January 30 at 3 p.m.
As the deputy treasurer mentioned in his report to committee members some fees will be going up nominally because of recent changes in 2017 pricing, while others remain the same from last year.
Nominal increases including the user cost for the daily walking program at the Collins Hall are proposed to go up from $1 to $2 daily for users and monthly use from $10 to $22.60, museum visit rates are proposed to go up to $2 from $1.25 for children under 17, while adult admission will go up from $3 to $4 while the family rate is proposed to go up from $6.50 to $8.
Summer playground rates are proposed to increase from $99.75 to $110 for a 10-day program, while the five-day rate will increase from $57.75 to $62.75 and the one-day pass from $16 to $17.
Collins Hall rentals will remain the same at $450 for a 12-hour rental with alcohol and $350 for non-alcohol venues.
Auditorium rentals at the civic centre will remain the same at:
- Theatre auditorium (local for-profit), 8/10 hours 640.00
- Theatre auditorium (local not-for-profit), 8/10 hours $260.00
- Out of town external bookings $755.00
“Rates are currently at market level by comparable service,” Vine stated in his report.
Camping rental for daily tent use is proposed to rise from $22.15 to $25, while rentals for trailers will go up from a daily price of $26.55 to $30. Rentals of Westview Park, across Highway 108 from the camping area, for weddings and similar will go up from $80 to $100.
At the Centennial arena, rates are also changing. The Minor Sport Rate (Non-Prime time, per hour) will go from $55.65 to $ 56.33, Minor Sport Rate (Prime Time Mon-Fri- 5pm-12am, per hour) rises nominally from $87.15 to $88.20. For special event rates, such as tournaments, the cost per hour will go from from $89.25 to $90.35.
The adult rate for non prime-time ice will go from $87.15 to $88.20, while adult rate (prime time Mon-Fri 5 p.m. - 12 a.m., per hour) will go from $126 to $127.50 and school board hourly rentals will go from $55.65, to $56.30
Out of town rentals (youth or adult, per hour) will also see a nominal increase from $126 to $127.50.
Costs for cat and dog tags will remain the same, with only shelter fees proposed to rise from $25 to $30.
“Fees increased two years ago. Trying to maintain current fees so as not to discourage individual from purchasing a license,” Vine stated.