REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: April 20, 2022 Report No. ADM-22-012
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Deb Hopkins, Manager of Corporate Services
SUBJECT:
Title
Amendments to Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council give first, second, and third readings to Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961, Amendment Bylaw, 2022, No. 3070.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No. 2961
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
This Request for Decision does not directly relate to a specific Council priority.
BACKGROUND:
Miscellaneous fees and charges have not been reviewed since 2019. Numerous categorized items are outdated and no longer reflect the current practice of providing copies of records and certain services to the public.
The proposed amendments include housekeeping items to remove categorized items that are no longer relevant. In addition, they include provisions to charge for services that were previously not categorized such as in-house copying of building plans and permits.
Over the past several years requests from property owners and the development community have increased significantly to receive copies of historical permits and plans on file that cost the Township both in staff time and financial costs to provide. In some cases, in-house reproductions of these documents are not possible, and they must be sent off-site. The amended schedules authorize cost recovery for the provision of these services from the individual receiving the service instead of having the service subsidized by the taxpayers.
New fees and charges under proposed Schedule “C” include in-house reproductions of building plans and permits. The fees were established in alignment with the costs already included in the current Bylaw under Schedule “D” for reproductions of Maps/Aerial/Photos/Drawings. Equal costs are proposed for building plans and permits as are currently charged for the same size paper copies of Engineering documents. Fees charged for any copying that must be done off-site will reflect the actual costs of the reproduction.
Further, the proposed Bylaw allows for the collection of deposits to ensure that staff do not undertake services unnecessarily. In this time of rapid sales in a desirable real estate market staff are receiving requests for service with an extremely tight turnaround time that may not be expressed when submitted. Staff are then undertaking the work, but the property has since sold, and the information is no longer required. The Township then absorbs the associated costs for unnecessarily expended resources in this and other similar scenarios.
The amendment Bylaw proposes to charge a deposit of $50 prior to proceeding with the request for copies under Schedule “C” and a deposit for staff time for administrative work as described in Schedule “A” to minimize unanticipated costs incurred by the Township.
ISSUES:
1. Rationale for Selected Option
Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous), 2019, No. 2961, Amendment Bylaw, 2022, No. 3070 more accurately reflects the costs for document reproductions and service provision to the public for the items outlined in the Bylaw.
2. Organizational Implications
Implementing the amendments as proposed will continue the practice established in 2016 of moving the Township towards a user pay system for the services provided and subsequently transitioning away from taxpayer subsidy for the associated costs.
3. Financial Implications
The revised fees and charges will allow the Township to recover more of the cost of the resources in providing the miscellaneous services contained in the bylaw to the public.
4. Sustainability & Environmental Implications
There are no significant sustainability and environmental implications associated with this Request for Decision. Where possible, documents and records are provided electronically.
5. Communication & Engagement
If adopted, the amended Bylaw will be posted online and distributed to staff to update their processes.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. That Council give first, second, and third reading to Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Bylaw, 2019, No, 2961, Amendment Bylaw, 2022, No. 3070.
2. That Council amend Bylaw No. 3070 and give first, second, and third reading to Bylaw No. 3070 as amended.
3. That Council provide alternate direction to staff.