TAMRMS#: B06
9.1
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Bylaw 30/2021 Master Rates Bylaw 46/2020 Amendments (1st reading)
Presented by: Stanley Chan, Divisional Controller, Financial Services & Information and Technology
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RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
recommendation
1. That the proposed fees, rates and charges shown in the attachments entitled “Fees, Rates and Charges Established by Bylaw”, “Council Policy C-IS-02 Fees” and “Council Policy C-FS-16 Municipal Fees and Charges” to the August 30, 2021 agenda report titled "Bylaw 30/2021 Master Rates Bylaw 46/2020 Amendments" be received as information.
2. That Bylaw 30/2021, being a bylaw to amend the Master Rates and Bylaw Fees, be read a first time.
3. That the revised version of policy C-FS-16 Municipal Fees and Charges shown in the attachment entitled "Revised Version C-FS-16 Municipal Fees and Charges" be approved.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
Administration is seeking adjustments to the City’s fees rates and charges as referenced in Council Policies and established by bylaws, as part of the 2022-2024 Municipal Budget Process.
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
N/A
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
Financial Planning
Stewardship and Development of annual operating and capital budgets for Municipal and Utility operations.
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
Council Policy C-FS-16, Municipal Fees and Charges, sets the basic principle that the CAO will set fees that are not contained in any bylaw:
“The CAO shall review and set fees for the programs, services, goods and requirements noted within this policy. The CAO shall also advise Council annually of these fees during the budget process.”
Council Policy C-FS-16 also stipulates, in Schedule 12, that if a fee or charge is set in a bylaw, only the Council can adjust it:
“Council shall set fees contained within bylaw. The CAO shall make recommendation(s) as to the appropriate fee, as necessary.”
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
User fees are a critical element of a municipality’s revenue mix and represent a significant portion of the City’s revenue stream. Annually, departments review fees considering factors such as market comparables, benchmarks, cost recovery, and defined methodology to determine the fee adjustment. This review process supports the City’s ‘user pay’ philosophy, such that wherever possible, the user of a particular program or service pays the cost of delivering or providing that program or service.
There are three types of fees which are listed below:
1. Fees, Rates and Charges Set By Bylaw
(requires Council approval)
The first type is a user fee set in one of the bylaws specifically mentioned in Schedule 12 of Policy C-FS-16 or in the Master Rates Bylaw 1/82 and requires Council to pass one or more amending bylaws in order to make changes. These fees are mandatory and there is no ability for Administration to avoid imposing them in the situations and with respect to the persons to whom they apply. This includes things such as development permits, building permits, tobacco retail licensing and electrical fees. The individual schedules can be found in the attachment to this report entitled “Fees, Rates and Charges set by Bylaw” with recommended changes to rates marked in red. The impact of these recommended amendments would generate $34,700 in Municipal Operating Revenue for 2022.
To provide Council with adequate time to review Administration's recommendations, 2nd and 3rd reading of Bylaw 30/2021 is currently scheduled for September 13, 2021.
2. Council Policy C- IS-02 Fees
(Change requires Council approval)
The second type of fee is within Council Policy C-IS-02 Wastewater Service Line Disruptions and Maintenance relating to wastewater service disruption callout charges. There are no changes to these fees being recommended by Administration for 2022, and the schedule can be found in the attachment entitled “Council Policy C-IS-02 Fees”.
3. Council Policy C-FS-16 Fees
(approved by CAO as per Policy)
The third type of fee or charge relates to “optional” fees within Council Policy C-FS-16 Municipal Fees and Charges. These types of fees and charges are set by the CAO. This includes fees for things such as recreational memberships, facility rentals and transit fares. Due to the uncertainty with COVID-19, the recreation fees will be reviewed and approved in 2022 as administration gets more information on openings and comparables. The individual schedules can be found in the attachment titled “Council Policy C-FS-16 Municipal Fees and Charges”. Since the CAO sets these fees and charges, this schedule is attached to this reports for Council’s information only. The impact of these amendments would generate $2,900 in Municipal Operating Revenue for 2022.
Administration is recommending changes to C-FS-16 Municipal Fees and Charges to incorporate a new schedule for nuisance fees for pest removal and to add the Hen Bylaw and Urban Beekeeping Bylaw to the list of bylaw fees that are reviewed in Schedule 12 of the policy. Details of the recommended changes to the policy can be found the attachment titled "Revised version C-FS-16 Municipal Fees and Charges".
The overall impact of amendments to these three types of fees and charges would be to generate an incremental $37,600 in Municipal Operating Revenue for 2022.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
N/A
IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
Amendment of the fees as detailed in the attachments will generate an incremental $37,600 in Municipal Operating Revenue which will be incorporated into the 2022 Proposed Budget. This will provide funding for the delivery of various municipal programs and services while continuing to support the City’s user pay philosophy.
Legal / Risk:
None at this time
Program or Service:
None at this time
Organizational:
None at this time
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
Council can recommended amendments to the fees contained in bylaw by 12:00 noon on Friday, September 3, 2021 to Legislative Services and that all such requests are expressed in the form of postponed motions be brought to Council consideration on September 13, 2021.
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Report Date: August 30, 2021
Author(s): Stanley Chan
Department: Financial Services & Information Technology
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer: Kerry Hilts
Chief Administrative Officer: Kevin Scoble