Town of Sundre residents will for the most part see their fees increased anywhere from about two to five per cent next year. Council unanimously carried a decision during its Dec.
Town of Sundre residents will for the most part see their fees increased anywhere from about two to five per cent next year.
Council unanimously carried a decision during its Dec. 5 meeting to approve the new rate structure for fees charged by the municipality, Vic Pirie, director of finance and administration, told the Round Up last week.
However, he pointed out to clarify, that fees have nothing to do with taxes, he said.
But faced with a challenging financial situation during the continued economic downturn, council also approved an increase to its mill rate for the next two years, he said. Click here for that story.
The types of fees the municipality charges include dog and cat licences, arena and public facility rental costs, development permits, business licences, and of course water, sewer, garbage as well as gas services — commonly known as utilities, he said.
The breakdown of all the fees, which includes the new rates, can be found on the Town of Sundre's page 3 ad of the Dec. 13 edition of the Round Up.
The main reason behind the increases was to keep up with mounting cost pressures, which includes the impending carbon tax. The increase in fees, which comes into effect Jan. 1, largely varied depending on each particular service, said Pirie.
While pet licences are going up about two per cent, building and development permits are set to increase by about five per cent. There had not been any adjustments to those permit fees for several years, and compared with other municipalities, they were low enough to justify the increase. User rates at the Sundre Arena are also poised to increase by about five per cent, he said.
"Compared to other local arenas in the area, we were the lowest."
Even with the increase, the rates for Sundre's arena will still be close to the lowest in the area, he added. However, those fees will remain fixed at the 2016 rates for the Sundre Minor Hockey Association, which will begin to pay the new rate at the start of the 2017 skating season. That's because the association sets its own rates charged to parents earlier in the season, so it would not be fair to go back to ask families who have already paid their hockey fees this year to pay even more, he said.
But not all fees are being increased. The monthly flat garbage disposal rate — despite now including recycling service — will remain unchanged at $25.65, he said.
And while the monthly flat rates for gas, water and wastewater are increasing marginally, their consumption rates will not be affected. Both the water and wastewater flat rates are going up to $20.50 per month from $19.50. The consumption rates remain at $2.25 per cubic metre for water and $1.35 per cubic metre for wastewater. The monthly flat rate for gas is going up to $26 from $25.50, but the consumption rate remains at $1.45 per gigajoule.
"Consumption is a large portion of the bill," said Pirie.
So maintaining those rates will help keep bills as low as possible for residents who strive to minimize consumption and use their water and gas as efficiently as possible. Everybody's going to use a certain amount — people have to flush at some point — but introducing more efficient processes as simple as shorter showers and turning off the tap while brushing can reduce those costs, he said.
"Our residents control — to a certain extent — how much they consume. The more efficient people are in their use of water and gas, the more they save."
