Kitchener proposes user fees increases of 2.3 - 3% in 2015
Kitchener councillors voted on Monday to raise a slew of user fees in 2015 and introduce 39 new fees.
The city's Finance and Corporate Services Committee approved a 3 per cent increase on most user fees and a 2.3 per cent increase on recreation-related fees on Monday morning.
User fees are assessed annually at budget time to reflect inflation. These fees apply to a wide variety of different things, such as admission to community centre activities to utility maintenance on private property. User fees are generally associated with programs and services that are not mandatory.
Of the 39 new fees, many of the substantial additions are related to infrastructure costs. For instance:
- A $1,300 fee for a homeowner requesting a storm water connection during road reconstruction project.
- A $2,400 - $11,600 fee for removing, installing or relocating a fire hydrant, usually borne by a developer.
- A $650 fee for thawing frozen waterlines on property.
Hans Gross, the city's director of engineering, said the new fees are a response to an increased demand for those services. Severe weather patterns and downtown intensification play into the equation, Gross said.
"Maybe the more frequent storms, the more intense rainfalls could be affecting properties more than they had been...Last winter was pretty cold and I believe there were more frozen water pipes last year...," said Gross.
"In general, there has been has been and is a greater amount of intensification taking place."
Street vendor licenses cut
The city has cut down annual license fees for street vendors that aren't food trucks, such as hot dog carts, popcorn and nut vendors from between $1,051 and $1,947 to $525.
The city reported the new fee balances what other municipalities charge – between $264 to $465 – and the cost of inspecting and enforcing vendor quality.
Earlier this year, the city approved a one-time yearly fee of $350 for food trucks. This fee will be reviewed early next year.
The new fees still have to be ratified by council at its next meeting in mid-December before they can be implemented.