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City looking at user fee hikes

There are a few new fees suggested, and an increase to parking permits
2020-06-09 City hall MH
Timmins City Hall on Algonquin Boulevard. Maija Hoggett/TimminsToday

Timmins user fees could be going up.

The city has a bylaw outlining the cost for everything from marriage licenses to building permits and parking fees. The current bylaw expires Dec. 31.

A five-year renewal of the bylaw is up for discussion at this week's Timmins council meeting. 

A staff report says the majority of the increases are to "allow for a cost of living increase". New fees and bigger increases to existing fees are also included. 

The clerk's department is recommending increasing parking fees and fines 

According to the report, the current  $45 for a monthly permit is "significantly low" and has been the same for more than 10 years. 

"There is an opportunity to utilize these rates to help drive users to existing city services such as transit," reads the report.

A monthly transit pass is $80. Because of the pandemic, Timmins Transit has not been operating at its full service level since March. It is currently running an enhanced Saturday service level.

The report also says increasing monthly parking fees would move towards 'green' initiatives like active transportation or carpooling.

The suggested monthly rates are $55 in 2021, $65 in 2022. $75 in 2023, $85 in 2024, and $95 in 2025.

For parking fines, the suggestion is to have a $20 fine with no early pay option. The current fine is $8 if it's paid within five days, then it increases to $12.

The clerk's department is also proposing a new yard cleanup fee. 

"We have been experiencing a number of issues recently with property cleanups with discarded needles. In one instance there were two, five-gallon pails of needles collected," according to the report. 

The recommendation is for a $500 'biohazard' fee to be added to the property owner.

For waste management, a new user fee is proposed for the Deloro and Tisdale transfer stations. The $3 flat fee, according to the report, is to "offset scale maintenance and attendant costs." The proposed fee schedule also "assumes the elimination of the free 100 kg/month." The residential price per ton would remain $50.

A one-per-cent fee increase over five years is also proposed for permitted contractors to dump snow at city snow dumps.

The report includes a breakdown of the "major cost challenges" Public Works and Engineering is facing. These include a $1.6 million composting program, the requirement to start a $2.5 million methane gas collection system, and financing capital program and operating costs. 

The full proposed bylaw is available here. It includes the cost for ice and facility rentals, licensing costs, fire department fees, and more. 

You can read the report breaking down the reasoning for some of the fee hikes here

Timmins council meets Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. in council chambers. The meeting is also streamed online.