Quinte West to be hit with increases in user-fees

The Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Gardens arena, one of the Quinte West hockey arenas to be affected by the increase in user-fees. Photo from Roaming Rinks.

By Joseph Carin

QUINTE WEST –From marriage licences to ice rental costs, most user-fees in Quinte West will see a gradual increase starting in 2017.

Ice rental fees for arenas will increase three per cent annually until 2020. Licensing fees will also see an increase of 2.4 per cent starting in 2017. Even finance services fees will also see an increase at an average of three per cent until 2020 with an additional fee for tender packages.

Finance services fall under general fees and includes water certificates, parking permits, tax reminder fees, photocopies etc.

Quinte West residents will see a rise in the following areas:

• Building Permit Fees
• Facilities, Parks & Programs Fees
• General Fees & Charges
• IT/ GIS Services Fees
• Licence Fees
• Planning and Development Fees
• Protective Services Fees (Fire and O.P.P)
• Public Works Fees
• Sign Fees
• Marina Fees

The specific changes in fees can be seen here.

Quinte West council approved this increase in user-fees last Monday night. According to Caleb DenOuden, the Quinte West treasurer, the increase in cost is meant to reflect the rise in inflation and cost of maintaining services.

“The purpose of the user fees is to recover the costs of services from those who use the service instead of collecting 100 per cent of the revenue through property tax,” says DenOuden.

The multi-year bylaw looks to off-set the price of maintaining facilities and the cost of multiple item changes ranging from re-zoning permits to dog licenses.

This comes as an update to the bylaw changed in 2013 where user-fees increased by three per cent throughout the different wards within Quinte West.