Non-residents coming to Kingston may soon face higher fees for city amenities, as officials consider changes for next year.
At their biweekly meeting on Feb. 4, Kingston City Council voted in favour of launching a review on whether non-Kingston residents should be paying more to access municipal services, and if so, how much more they should be paying. These services include swimming lessons and facility rentals such as hockey rinks. In an 11-2 vote in favour, the motion argues that because city services are often subsidized through property taxes, non-residents, like students, who don’t contribute to those taxes should be subject to pay higher fees.
Councillor for the Loyalist-Cataraqui district, Paul Chaves, brought Motion 19 to the table, calling for the review of non-Kingston resident fees, charges, and registration and application restriction.
states changes could include but aren’t limited to different pricing structures for non-residents, priority registration windows for Kingston residents when it comes to booking recreational programs or other high-demand services, and resident-only access periods to city-owned facilities, for example, a time where only residents could access a public pool.
The city currently uses a flat-fee system for services like swimming lessons and facility rentals, regardless of residency, meaning Kingston citizens are only charged once for utilizing the services.
With the council voting in favour of allowing the review to take place, City of Kingston staff are now beginning to look into different pricing structures for non-residents. If implemented, this change wouldn’t be unheard of, as Kingston’s neighbouring municipality, Loyalist Township, implemented similar changes last May.
Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson voted in favour of the motion. In an interview with The Journal, he cited rising financial pressures as one reason why this is something that should be given some thought.
“it’s worthwhile exploring all different options. Not to say that we’re necessarily going to act on them, but it’s better to have more options and then decide what we think is the best,” Paterson said.
Paterson wants to assure university students this motion won’t affect them, especially those living in residence or a rental unit. He said since the landlord of that property pays the property tax, whether that would be Queen’s or a leasing agency, they would be considered Kingston residents.
Paterson gave his response to people who argue non-residents contribute to the economy in their own ways, including being employed in Kingston and paying local sales taxes, outlining the impacts that Kingston residents have as well.
“I’m open minded, I don’t have a strong view on this yet. I want to see what the information is, but I think that what I would say to that is that, well, Kingston residents themselves have an impact working and contributing to the local economy. So, I think obviously it’s something that we would just look at on a broader basis,” Paterson said.
Paterson mentioned the motion is something he could bring to the Regional Mayors Council, a group formed two years ago consisting of the mayors of Loyalist Township, Napanee, North Frontenac, Gananoque, and the Township of Leeds and the 1000 Islands, to discuss any potential changes. He said the group meets at least once a year but runs on an “as needed” basis.
“As we grow and as our population grows, I think that there’s going to be more and more opportunities where it might make sense for us to work together on projects, rather than everyone doing their own thing,” Paterson said.
While the outcome of the motion’s review remains uncertain, the findings will be reported later this year when the Fees and Charges Bylaw is updated for next year’s annual budget.
Tags
city council, City of Kingston, higher fees, Resident Fees
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