Belleville City Council voted to approve a middle of the road approach to an increase in user fees for 2025 and 2026.
Council received a report on the 2024 User Fees Study that concluded that even after fee increases in 2024, large gaps remained between the current fees and the optimal fee levels with the study suggesting significant increases to user fees for 2025 and 2026.
A public survey on the study said 72% of respondents did not consider the proposed fee increases affordable for their household’s budget while 81% stated those fees would influence their decision on using the city’s programs and services.
Staff presented three options to council on how to approach fee increase.
Option 1 was fee increases to the full extent laid out in the study. Option 2 was a reduced impact to fee increases. Option 3 was a reduced impact to fee increases as well as prolonging the roll-out of the increases from two years to between three and four years.
Staff ultimately recommended option 2 saying it helped to address affordability concerns laid out in the survey, and to protect against a possible reduction in registrations, rentals and revenue.
Under option 2, fee increases would come to the following:
- minor ice rentals
- minor pool rentals
- minor floor rentals
- children and youth programs and camps
- not-for-profits floor rentals
- adult and minor sports fields
- harbours (dockage fees)
A table showing the amount of estimated revenue increase the city would receive from the three options proposed in the study. (Screenshot from City of Belleville report)
Councillor Lisa Anne Chatten proposed an amendment to the motion requesting that a decision on user fee increases come at the next meeting of council after public consultation of the proposed fee increases.
In a recorded vote, the motion failed in a 4-4 tie.
Councillors Sean Kelly, Barbara Enright Miller, Lisa Anne Chatten and Mayor Neil Ellis voted yes to the motion.
Councillors Paul Carr, Chris Malette, Garnet Thompson, and Kathryn Brown voted no to the motion.
The vote then moved to the original motion calling for Option 2 to be implemented for fee increases.
In another recorded vote, the original motion passed 5-3.
Councillors Paul Carr, Chris Malette, Garnet Thompson, Kathryn Brown, and Mayor Neil Ellis voted yes to the motion.
Councillors Sean Kelly, Barbara Enright Miller, and Lisa Anne Chatten voted no to the motion.
