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09-007_User Fee Policy RCP_20169-007 Page 1 of 5 RECREATION, HERITAGE AND PARKS Policy 9-007: User Fee Policy RCP Approval Date: April 25, 2016 Approval Authority: Council, By-Law 4013 Effective Date: April 25, 2016 Next Scheduled Review Year: Department: Recreation, Culture and Parks Last reviewed: December 12, 2016 Revision Date/s: December 12, 2016, By-Law 4064 Schedules: A. POLICY STATEMENT The Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg provides a variety of recreation, leisure, and sporting opportunities for the residents of the Town and surrounding areas. These services provide the opportunity for residents to lead an active and healthy lifestyle which benefits both individuals and the community. A user fee policy provides a balanced approach for establishing fees in consideration of the following objectives. - Reducing reliance on property taxes, by recovering an appropriate portion of the costs for various services from the users that benefit from them; - Providing a fair and equitable process that encourages accessibility and participation; and, - Ensures fees contribute to the effective and efficient use of town resources. The policy provides enough flexibility to meet evolving social values and changing fiscal pressures. B. PURPOSE 9-007 Page 2 of 5 The purpose of this policy is to provide clear and consistent procedures for establishing user fees for Recreation, Culture and Parks programs and services. C. AUTHORITY Council shall: a) Approve budget targets; and, b) Approve base fees. The Director of Recreation, Culture and Parks or designate shall be responsible for administering this policy. Recreation, Culture & Parks Staff shall: a) Ensure compliance with the current Rates & Fees by-law; b) Propose base fees for new programs and services; and, c) Participate in regular reviews of base fees. D. POLICY Setting Fees Various strategies will be used to guide pricing decisions. The following protocol will be used to determine fees: 1) Establish the base rate using: - Input costs to provide the service, facility or program; - Competitive rates (comparison to other municipalities, service providers); and, - Inflationary increases (regular incremental increase). The comparators’ data will be reviewed at minimum every two years. The comparators will be reviewed every five years while the Town’s rates will be reviewed every year. Annually approved rates through the Rates and Fees Bylaw with specific percentage increases may be rounded for advertising and administration purposes. As a guideline, annual increases to accommodate inflation should be applied to all fees except where price sensitivity and competitiveness will be negatively affected. 2) Apply reductions to the base rate in an effort to increase volume using: - Incentive rates (non-prime-time and promotional) - User class reductions - Donations & Capital Improvement equivalent - Reductions for activity promotions or for special occasions - Volunteering 9-007 Page 3 of 5 a) Incentive rates i) Reductions for rentals - Arena Rentals - 25% Reduction 6am-5pm Monday through Friday - Facility Rentals – 25% Reduction to customers booking two or more events at the base rate at the same time. - Partnership in profit sharing – As approved by the Director, up to 40% reduction to bookings at the base rate when profit sharing becomes an opportunity. - Should an individual or company rent the Museum’s program room or grounds, they may book the historic house to be open for their guests to tour. A tour surcharge may be added to the rental fee in accordance with the current rates and fees by-law. ii) Promotional Rates Promotional rates, discounted up to 30%, may be applied to increase participation, encourage registration in new programs, promote active and healthy lifestyles and/or increase memberships or sales. iii) Advertising opportunities - Up to 25% reduction off second arena board advertising may be applied to increase advertising revenue. - Town of Tillsonburg Partners get 50% discount on advertising in Recreation Guide. Partners are considered to be the Station Arts Centre, Tillsonburg Senior Centre and Oxford County including the Oxford County Library. b) User Class Reductions - programs and facility rentals i) Adult – Base Rate: no reduction. ii) Child/Youth Rate – 30% reduction for each additional child in the same nuclear family registered at the same time. iii) Toddler rate - 100% reduction for Lake Lisgar Water Park for children 5 years & under. iv) Registered Non-Profits - 25% reduction of base rate on rental of space at the Tillsonburg Community Centre and/or Memorial Park & Fairgrounds for fundraising events (hourly rate not eligible). v) Designated Minor Sport Organization – nominal annual fee for use of designated administrative and storage space. vi) School Boards - 25% reduction off base rate on rental of meeting and/or function space at the Tillsonburg Community Centre. c) Donations & Capital Improvement Equivalent With the approval of the Director, equipment donations and grants received from sport groups and other organizations may result in rate reductions equivalent to the value of the donation. Credit for capital improvements may be negotiated on a case by case basis. 9-007 Page 4 of 5 d) Activity Promotions for Special Occasions Services and programs that promote physical, leisure and cultural activity for persons of all ages and abilities may be assessed a 50% reduction for admission prices. (i.e. Public Swimming/Skating, Canada Day, Waterpark ½ price days or admission donations) e) Volunteering (Museum) Active Museum Volunteers and all members in good standing of the Tillsonburg & District Historical Society receive free admission to the museum. This applies only to volunteers and members, not their families and/or guests. 3) Apply additional fees for user specific services and surcharges as applicable by using: - Extra fees - Premiums a) Extra Fees Additional fees that represent the incremental cost of licenses, contracted services, supplies and staff time may be applied for programs, rentals, and services that require extra care and attention beyond what is provided at the base rate. These fees will be charged on a cost-recovery basis. i) Set-up or clean-up for special events or tournaments ii) Consumable supplies for specific programs (i.e. craft or cooking classes) iii) Contract security costs for licensed events or large concerts iv) Insurance costs v) License fees vi) Special grave-side services b) Premiums Premiums may be added to cover additional costs. They may be added to the base rate and are not subject to any reductions. i) Statutory Holidays - Additional 50% of base rate Community Donations Requests for items to be donated by the Town for door prizes and auction items will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Recreation Programs & Services Manager. Available items include but are not limited to gift certificates, coupons and discounted admission passes. Administration Administration fees for refunds, electronic transactions, withdrawals, returned NSF cheques and receipt re-prints are included in the Rates and Fees By-law. 9-007 Page 5 of 5 Course Cancellations Insufficient registrations may necessitate the cancellation of a program. The Town reserves the right to change or cancel programs if necessary. A 30% discount may be applied on future registrations if a course is cancelled less than 24 hours from the scheduled first class. Monitoring and Evaluation The Town of Tillsonburg shall continuously monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Pricing Policy in terms of its ability to address community needs. A full review of the policy will take place every five years or as deemed appropriate.