In her report to council on Thursday, October 10, Champlain Township Treasurer France Thauvette recommended increasing some user and service fees within Champlain Township. Changes to animal control, building permits and inspections, and alcohol prices are included, all accounting for increases in municipal costs. A by-law will be introduced to formalize these changes at the next council meeting on October 24.
The current fees by-law was adopted in November 2020 for the five years of 2021-2025. The fees are reviewed yearly, and each municipal department must submit changes to the Treasurer. The report made numerous suggestions covering a broad range of services and user fee changes.
Animal control service fees have not increased in the past four years, although associated costs have continued to rise. The current animal impound fee is set at $24 per day and is recommended to increase to $35 per day for 2025, similar to numbers from Clarence-Rockland and The Nation.
Councillor Gerry Miner explained, “We adjust our prices to be competitive with others” when examining similar fees to neighbouring townships. Fees differ from one municipality to the next due to some services a third party provides.
Secondly, in an effort to reduce unnecessary administrative tasks and staff hours, it was suggested that the Special Event Permit Fee be removed. Streamlining the process for event organizers and the municipality will reduce costs for both parties. Currently, special event fees range from $25 to $200 each.
In the report, the Building Department advised Thauvette to adopt new fees for permits and inspections. Dormant permits, additional or re-inspection fees, after-hours inspection costs, and agency letters of approval would all cost $150 each. Presently, there are no fees for these services.
For waste services, it was recommended that user garbage collection and disposal fees be increased to $180 per unit beginning in 2025. Fees currently sit at $175 and are set to rise to $178 in 2025, but they do not cover the Township’s costs for the services.
In the Parks and Recreation Department, increases of $0.50 were suggested to current bar prices. Domestic beer, liquor, and wine per glass would increase to $6.25 each, while imported or craft beer and coolers would rise to $6.75 each to keep up with industry pricing standards.
The Fire Department or Public Works made no recommendations in the report to council.
