It will cost you more to get licences and permits from the town as of Jan. 1, though the user fee increases have been capped at the rate of inflation, thanks to this year’s municipal election.
Since the local election falls on Oct. 22, and the new council convenes for the first time Dec. 17, any user fee increases had to be approved now so that businesspeople and residents could properly prepare, Town of Newmarket Treasurer Mike Mayes said. Bigger-ticket, taxpayer-funded budget items such as water and wastewater rates will have to wait until December, as an outgoing council is reluctant to saddle a new council with decisions made so close to an election.
The increase for things such as taxi licences or special occasion permits will not exceed 2.8 per cent, the rate of inflation on March 31, 2018 that the town used to develop user fees for 2019.
So, for example, if you wanted to set up a temporary, pop-up shop to sell fireworks, you’ll pay $375 for the permit to do so instead of $365, an additional 2.7 per cent.
New charges on the books include a $125 permit for driving school instructors and a $20 daily storage fee for impounded newspaper boxes. On the other hand, dog and cat lovers catch a break as the fee to license furry friends remains unchanged: $35 for a dog or cat over four months (seniors pay $30); and $5 to transfer your animal licence from another municipality or for a replacement tag for your pet.
Licensing of refreshment vehicles such as food trucks, coffee or catering trucks will now run $452 in total, $319 for the vehicle and $133 for its driver. By comparison, over in Whitchurch-Stouffville, a licence to operate a food truck costs $630 per year. In Vaughan, the fee is $503, including $392 for the owner, plus $110 for its operator.
The single-digit hike in user fees is expected to generate an additional $8,000 for town coffers.
Newmarket Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Tracy Walter offers a bigger perspective.
"In general, there is an ongoing concern about the rising cost of doing business in Ontario. All levels of government must weigh increased charges to business against the cumulative impact to the business community," she said.
How does the town decide what it charges for services and products it delivers to you? It’s a subject Mayes knows well as co-author of the report on which the town’s service pricing policy is based.
“The policy determines the cost-recovery targets depending on who benefits most from the service, the community as a whole or the individual user of a service,” said Mayes, adding that cost recovery takes into account the full cost of providing a service. “For instance, we recover 90 per cent of the cost of planning application fees because that’s of most benefit to the developer. Fees related to toddler swimming lessons might be only 20 per cent, because that’s a benefit to the community.”
In the end, everything has to be paid for, Mayes added, whether by the user, taxpayer or a combination of both.
To learn more about town services, programs, and fees, visit the town here
