Iqaluit City Council defers omnibus fee-hike bylaw

Amy Elgersma, the City of Iqaluit’s director of recreation, said April 12 that many municipal service fees have not been increased since 2005. (PHOTO BY STEVE DUCHARME)

John Mabberi-Mudonyi, the city’s chief financial officer is standing in for Muhamud Hassan, the chief administrative officer, until after Hassan returns from vacation. (PHOTO BY STEVE DUCHARME)

Iqaluit City Council has deferred its consideration of a new bylaw that would raise many of the city’s service fees until after councillors get more information about which fees have been raised and by how much.

Dubbed the “Consolidated Fee and Charges Bylaw,” it was introduced April 12 by the city’s chief financial officer, John Mabberi-Mudonyi, who told councillors the bylaw compiles hundreds of municipal service fees into one easy-to-access document.

Mabberi-Mudonyi is filling in for Chief Administrative Officer Muhamud Hassan, who is currently on vacation.

“What it does is it consolidates all the fees from the various bylaws and breaks it into one bylaw that is definitely more convenient for everyone instead of going through so many bylaws,” he said.

But when Deputy Mayor Romeyn Stevenson asked if the bylaw raises any municipal service fees, Mabberi-Mudonyi responded that there have been “adjustments.”

“Some have changed,” he said, before calling on the city’s recreation director, Amy Elgersma, to explain some of the “adjustments” to council.

“The recreation department is proposing fee increases for the majority of our fees,” Elgersma said, adding that many of the fees haven’t been altered since 2005.

Many of the proposed changes raise admission prices for various sporting activities, such as hockey or curling, as well as overhaul the city’s payment scheme for renting municipal space.

That change would introduce a two-tier system that charges a base fee for non-profit and private functions, with 20 per cent added to the base price for commercial events.

But the proposed fee increases aren’t limited to the city’s recreational services. Nearly every city department has fees included in the document.

But it’s unclear how many have been increased because current fee amounts were not listed in the proposed bylaw.

Coun. Terry Dobbin pointed out that one fee for the disposal of car and truck bodies saw an increase five times greater than the current fee: $1,000 as compared to the city’s current rate of $200.

“I’m really concerned about derelict vehicles in this town and with a $1,000 fee to dispose of those vehicles, people are not going to be enticed to bring them to the landfill… the problem is just going to get larger,” Dobbin said.

Rates for the city’s eight-week summer day camp program would double under the proposed bylaw, from the current $25 dollars to $50 dollars a week.

Lunchtime supervision for children remaining at the day camp would also net a $10-dollar-a day charge from parents.

Some councillors were left wondering why the bylaw’s title is so misleading.

“I see two issues here. One, the consolidation and then, within that consolidation, staff has taken an opportunity to include fees that they’ve either increased or reduced… What are we looking at here?” Coun. Kuthula Matshazi asked.

“As this was being done, it was decided that it would be more efficient to, instead of passing one consolidated fees bylaw, and then right after to ask for increases, to do it at one time,” Elgersma replied.

“Those two issues should have been made very clear right from the start,” Matshazi responded.

City council asked municipal staff to return with more detailed information highlighting all the fee changes, displaying both the current and proposed rates.

“At this point there’s an uncertainty on which items are being increased and by what amount. [I suggest] that we defer this item and request that the staff come back with a revised schedule that shows [the fee changes],” Mayor Madeleine Redfern said.

The mayor also requested that city staff be available at the next review of the bylaw to explain any of the proposed increases.

The deferral was passed unanimously.

The next city council meeting is scheduled for April 26.