If you’re living in Oro-Medonte and looking to book a township-owned event space, participate in one of the many recreation programs or have the fire department do an inspection this year, you might want to review the municipality’s new fees and charges.
Many programs will cost users a few dollars more this year.
At its last meeting, Oro-Medonte council approved staff-recommended changes to the township’s fees and charges in an effort to “enable the municipality to realize those recoveries rather than rely on the costs to be borne by the tax levy,” according to the report’s authors Donna Hewitt, director of corporate services, and Shannon Johnson, director of finance and chief financial officer.
Those changes took effect Jan. 1.
“In preparing these recommendations, staff consider the time and expenses required to deliver services with the objective of cost recovery by users where possible,” the report stated. “Also, data from other municipalities in Simcoe County is reviewed to identify opportunities for revenue generation, best-practice applications and to assess township cost comparisons.”
According to the report, a comprehensive review of fees and charges was conducted in the fall of 2023, with additional department specific reviews and amendments made throughout 2024.
The review included the following services: administration; fire and emergency; recreation and community; operations; communal tile schedule; municipal law enforcement; drinking water; wastewater treatment (Freed PVT); and water upgrades to Horseshoe Valley settlement area.
The development services department has contracted the services of Watson & Associates Economists to conduct a thorough cost review of services delivered by the building, planning and development engineering divisions. The results of that analysis, which includes a review of comparator municipal fee structures, will be presented to council early in 2025. Any recommended modifications will be brought forward at that time for council consideration and subsequent amendments to the fees and charges bylaw.
While the majority of the increases are nominal — certifying a township document has increased $5 to $25 per request; booking the pavilion at Bayview Memorial Park for four hours has gone up $4, and the annual fee per resident for tennis court use has gone up $1.40 to $29.65 — there are a couple of increases that will certainly capture the public’s interest.
The first is a new fee structure for fire inspections for multiple buildings located on a single parcel of land.
“By setting clear fees for both main and additional buildings based on their size, we can effectively cover the costs associated with these inspections,” Oro-Medonte Fire and Emergency Services (OMFES) noted in the report. “This approach will help maintain high safety standards and provide transparency for our clients.”
Under the new fee structure, it will cost $75 for the inspection of the main building on a property with multiple buildings under 20,000 square feet. An inspection for each additional building on property will cost $50.
If the main building on a property with multiple buildings is more than 20,000 sq. ft., the inspection will cost $100 and each additional building on the property will cost $75.
OMFES also introduced two new fees for this year: training room rental for outside agencies at $265 per day, and training grounds rental at $500 per day plus consumables.
“OMFES is working towards completing the training grounds at Station Two (East Oro) in 2025,” the report stated. “If requests are received by outside agencies or other fire departments, staff are proposing a daily rental fee to assist with maintaining the grounds.”
Another new addition is the memorial program, a revised offering that provides individuals with a number of options to commemorate a loved one.
Under this program, residents have three options: plant a tree of remembrance for $750, including installation; plant a tree of remembrance with a plaque for $1,200, including installation, or install a bench with a dedication plaque for $3,500, which includes permanent concrete installation.
For the full list of fees and changes in Oro-Medonte Township, click here.
