A few dollars here and there can really add up through the town’s fees and charges, which, once approved, are expected to bring in $20 million next year to offset the costs of some town services.
Annually, as part of the budget process, town staff review the current fees and charges and provide the treasurer with requested changes, additions, or deletions to their fees. Council approves the changes annually, and it considered the proposed 2025 list at its Dec. 2 committee of the whole meeting.
Once approved, the new fees and charges will take effect on Jan. 1 of the following year.
“To see almost $20 million to be recovered here is an awesome approach,” said Mayor Yvonne Hamlin.
She noted she was happy to see a reduction in the cost for a Colltrans monthly student pass by 50 per cent, to $15.
“I know from some discussions I’ve had with students, there were concerns raised by some students that not all students on sports teams could afford to get to places where they were competing because of the cost of transit,” she said. “I think this will help all around.”
New fees next year include resubmission fees of $640 after the second and third submissions for site plan and draft plan of subdivision applications, respectively, to incentivize quality submissions, and temporary patio extension application fees were added to cover planning costs for working on these applications, as well as adding a sidewalk patio winter permit fee of $153.
While council approved adding these fees previously, council also voted to reduce them for the first few years after kicking off the program during the pandemic.
Fees for dog tag renewal are being amended this year to include that renewals can occur on any day of the year now, while the Georgian Triangle Humane Society boarding fee was reduced to $30 to reflect the actual cost.
There’s a new fee in place of $123 when no key holder responds or is available during a fire, to incentivize building managers to respond in a timely manner when fire staff have been dispatched.
For tennis courts, multi-use courts and the skatepark, the daily charge was removed due to no demand. The hourly rate has been reduced to $7 from $19.50, and there’s a new rate of $3.50 for minor sports groups. These rates are only for reservations and these spaces can be used without reservations.
Several docking fee categories have been increased between five and seven per cent to reflect the high demand and wait lists for these services.
An hourly rehearsal space fee and pipe and drape fee of $24 was added for the Simcoe Street Theatre. Hourly rates have been added new this year for renting the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame Room and the Mezzanine/meeting rooms.
A special event application fee of $25 was added to ensure applicants are committed to delivering the events.
Fees are predominantly calculated on a cost-recovery basis up to an amount determined by the department’s goals or guidelines. In town treasurer Jennifer Graham’s report, she notes that while town staff also compare user fees to other local municipalities, it may not be an accurate comparison since neighbouring municipalities have differing cost structures, recovery objectives, or user-fee policies.
The majority of fee changes are based on the annual Consumer Price Index adjustment.
Coun. Deb Doherty generally echoed Hamlin’s comments, but added some fees could still be adjusted, such as the boat launch fee, the adult monthly fee for using the pool at the Centennial Aquatic Centre, and the fee the town charges for a permit to erect a pool fence on private property.
“These fees look to be well thought out,” she said. “My thoughts are, where could we charge a little bit more without gouging?”
Council voted unanimously in favour of increasing fees for private property compliance, parks and harbour, the pool and the arena skating fees to the nearest round number.
Any decisions made during committee of the whole need to be ratified at the next regular council meeting before going into effect. Council consideration of the motion will take place at its meeting on Dec. 16.
To read through all the fees and charges proposed for 2025, click here.
