Committee of the Whole discusses proposed fees bylaw

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Town of Strathmore Committee of the Whole addressed Bylaw 24-25 being the drafted fees bylaw during the Nov. 13 meeting in council chambers. 

The bylaw was last addressed during the Nov. 6 regular meeting of council, where it was granted second reading before being returned to administration. 

Council had directed administration to bring back options for all-access passes, as well as a proposed reduction to the all-access pass.

“Specifically, council had asked administration to examine or discuss reducing the all access-pass to $1,200 annually, including a monthly payment option and a non-month payment option for the all access-pass,” said Riley Brolly, manager of financial planning, budgeting and reporting for the Town of Strathmore.

A rate bylaw is designed to give council a framework to ensure fair and equitable charges to residents. By renewing it on an annual basis, it also helps to ensure financial sustainability for the town. 

The proposed bylaw contains rates, fees, and fines for a range of services and bylaws adopted by council.

Approximately 30 per cent of the town’s revenues are derived from fees and charges authorized in the annual rate bylaw. These are renewed annually and are adjusted in order to reflect changes in levels of services, increased contributions to reserves or recover costs of delivering programs, as well as to adjust for inflation. 

The currently proposed bylaw contains a four per cent increase to all water, wastewater, and storm rates for property and business owners within the local community. 

Much of the proposed bylaw has been observed as favourable by council, as it has received its first two readings. 

The Nov. 13 discussion focused largely around rates for passes to access town recreational facilities. 

“In 2023, the family annual all-access membership was only $12 more than the sport center family annual membership. Considering this, it was determined a more significant increase was needed to better align the value of the all-access membership,” said Marcy Mansbridge, manager of recreation and culture with the Town of Strathmore. 

The rationale for the proposed all-access pass fee is based off one-month all-access membership prices and offering a noticeable discount to residents. Access would be granted for all three facilities for the effective price of passes for 1.5. 

As the discussion took place during the Committee of the Whole meeting, council will make their final decision when third reading of the proposed new fees bylaw happens during the Nov. 20 regular meeting.

More information about the discussion is publicly available through the town’s recorded Committee of the Whole meeting minutes posted to their YouTube channel. The figures for how the fees and prices are outlined are available via the town’s meeting agenda for the Nov. 13 meeting.