Bonfield has adjusted building fees and raised the ire of many residents.
Those angered by the fee increases filled council chambers during the May 14 meeting. Many expressed concerns about the fees, and many accused councillors of not listening to the people, those who were there, ready to share their opinions on the topic.
As outbursts from attendees began, Mayor Narry Paquette told the room “We’re not going to end up yelling at each other or anything like that here.” The correct protocol for a council meeting is to call ahead and request to speak on a topic, and council will give you some time on the agenda.
However, the people lining the small council chamber wanted their voices heard, despite the council policy. After all, the vote was coming that would make the new fees official, which council agreed to pass.
The new fees “put Bonfield in the middle of the pack” explained Councillor Jason Corbett, referring to how the fees compare to neighbouring municipalities. The fees haven’t been altered much since 2010, which is why council decided to review them.
“There’s a hard cost to doing this type of work,” Corbett said of the building permission process. Work began on the new fee structure in March, and the new fees are “our way of ensuring that those using the services are paying for the services, and we aren’t raising the taxes to have the township pay for those costs,” noted Nicky Kunkle, Bonfield’s Chief Administrative Officer.
Kunkle detailed that last year, the Township’s Building Department expenses were $67,050 of which 62 per cent was recovered from fees. These expenses included “telecommunications, vehicle, codes and standards, training, legal fees, insurance and supplies,” but do not take into account wages.
The township wants to raise that recovered amount to 70 per cent.
Bonfield will continue using a minimum fee structure with a cost per square meter for certain types of permits, such as dwellings, additions, and new farm buildings. Flat fees will be used for one-time permits such as plumbing, fireplace inspections, and demolitions.
New residential fees have been reduced from a minimum fee of $5,062 to $4,000, but others have risen to recover that 70 per cent. A new addition costs a minimum of $4,000, adding a new dwelling unit within an existing building will cost $10 per square metre, and new farm buildings or additions to farm buildings have a minimum fee of $1,500.
This last point hit home for many, because in the last draft of the fee by-law, that minimum fee was $10,769.
On April 30, council held a meeting to discuss the fees, and two people came with comments. Leann Chadbourn, the long-time Rutherglen resident, was “very disappointed in what [council’s] plans are for Bonfield,” worried the higher fees “will make the town economically unviable.”
Brad Smith asked specifically about that proposed $10,000 fee for a new barn – “a bit steep” – and he admitted that with fees like that, there was no way he could build a new equipment building.
Even at $1,500, the new fee is too high for Smith’s liking, and he wondered “What kind of costs are we trying to recoup and why?” Overall, the fees “are definitely high in my opinion.”
Plenty agreed, and many were upset with the entire process, feeling the Township did not listen to residents’ opinions on the topic. One gentleman at the meeting emphasized that ‘We already pay more,” taxes than other municipalities, “and we get nothing.”
Others raised their questions to the council but were silenced by procedural by-laws. Some questioned why that barn fee fell so dramatically, from over $10,000 to $1,500, and wondered why council even allowed that first number within the draft.
However, it was not the time for answers, as those questions were not slated to appear on the agenda, and many missed their chance to talk at the April 30 meeting.
BayToday heard that councillors did stay after the meeting to talk with citizens, but by then, many had already left. Some residents stormed out just before the vote was called, and the new by-law passed.
“If anybody would like to come in and talk with our CAO, or the building official, or any one of council,” Mayor Paquette said, “we’ll meet with you” to discuss the new fee structure and the process leading to its creation.
The new by-law can be found on the township’s website. It’s on page 43 of the PDF file of the May 14 agenda.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
