King Township user fee hikes on the horizon: report

Schedule to be part of township's 2016 budget and business plan

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 18, 2015
By Tim Kelly

It will cost curlers more to rock the house this coming season as bonspiel rates in King Township have jumped from $460 to $513.27, an increase of 11.6 per cent.

The Township released its 2016 fee schedule report at Monday night’s council meeting and, not surprisingly, most of the hundreds of user fees area residents pay are on the rise.

It’s all part of the cost of doing business, said Mayor Steve Pellegrini in an interview before the meeting.

“It’s our cost to deliver services. There are more staff costs, more costs for facilities and the hydro rate has gone up.

“Normally we raise rates (user fees) about 2 per cent,” said Pellegrini.

Indeed, the vast majority of the user fee increases fall within the two per cent increase margin.

For instance: Ice rental rates have gone up slightly from $228.50 per hour for single use in prime time to $238.94 with non prime-time ice up from $114 an hour to $119.47 and summer ice from $114 an hour to $123.89.

Asked about the curling bonspiel increase, well above the inflation-rate increase, Pellegrini said: “For curlers, this is the final year they have had a discount on their ice and this increase brings them up to par with the other ice users.”

Most of the hundreds of fees cover everything from civil marriage ceremonies to personal trainer fees.

Pellegrini said it’s important to point out user fees are just one of the ways the township raises revenue.

He listed property taxes, development charges and grants in addition to user fees as revenue generators for the township’s coffers.

“We think people who use the services should pay the fees ... it’s a fair way in that people who consume a service actually pay towards it. A lot of them don’t pay the full share either,” he said.

The report on user fees was received by Township council and will be part of the budget and business plan that will be presented to council for approval in January. Fees will take effect in 2016.