Town discussing 2026 fees bylaw

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Discussions remain ongoing for the Town of Strathmore regarding the 2026 fees bylaw, as second reading was passed during the Sept. 17 meeting of council. 

Town administration recommended that council review and set the rates for the 2026 fees in advance of their budget deliberations in order to provide clarity and direction in terms of projected revenue for next year. 

Approximately 30 per cent of the town’s revenue is derived from fees and charges authorized in the annual rate bylaw. 

These are reviewed and adjusted annually in order to reflect changes in levels of service, as well as to adjust for inflation.

“We are recommending a few inflationary increases to water and wastewater consumption rates; we are recommending reallocating some infrastructure reserve fund charges to better align with where we project the highest need for spending in the coming years,” said Riley Brolly, manager of financial planning.

For the upcoming fiscal year, administration had recommended the town’s fees largely either remain the same or increase to demonstrate inflationary increases. 

Several changes to the application of utility billing components were recommended. These included both increases and decreases. 

Increases included $0.08 per cubic meter to water consumption charges, $0.16 monthly to water infrastructure, $0.06 per cubic meter to wastewater consumption, and $1.59 monthly to wastewater infrastructure.

Recommended decreases included $0.47 to storm infrastructure, and $5.50 monthly to solid waste fees. 

Brolly explained the recommended decrease stems from provincial rebates the town is anticipating receiving in the upcoming year.

The net impact of the recommended changes to a household using 12 cubic meters of water per month would be a decrease of approximately one dollar to their utility bill.

Additional recommendations included two per cent increases to ice and room rentals of the Strathmore Family Centre, pool and room rentals at the aquatic center, rentals at the Motor Products Sports Centre, and generically for use of the Strathmore Civic Centre. 

 “Especially when it comes to the fees that we are charging for using the facilities – mainly the sports facilities … I would like to see more creativeness and attention paid to looking for ways to better fit what the residents are looking for or need,” said Coun. Jason Montgomery. “One of the things I have brought up in the past for example is, at the swimming pool, when it is the last hour of public swim for instance, most people are not going to want to walk in the door and pay full price for about 45 minutes of swimming. We should see something in here that [discounts] the last hour or something like that.”

Montgomery suggested creating more flexibility and incentives to keep residents wanting to utilize local services more and potentially make it more affordable for them to do so.

Despite the recommendation by administration to pass the bylaw, council did not give unanimous consent to hold all three readings during the Sept. 17 meeting. 

Council will not be meeting again until after the Oct. 20 election unless a special meeting must be scheduled.