Vernon’s Parks and Recreation Fees set to increase in 2025

Jul 17, 2024 | 11:51 AM

User groups will be paying more for Vernon’s park and recreation spaces next year.

A report to Vernon City Council stated consultations with user groups have shown that “drastic increases in fees can create significant challenges to users,” but added there is also a “significant gap between current fees, current costs and overall subsidy rates.”

Taking into account the findings from the consultations and the gap between fees and costs, staff recommended council endorse a five per cent increase to the Parks and Recreation Fees in 2025.

It was also recommended that the rental category definitions be updated to reflect facility usage, that School District fees be reviewed with a future Joint Use Agreement, and that staff be tasked with undertaking another review to gather options for Parks and Recreation Fee increases in future years.

Upon receiving the report and recommendations at the regular meeting Monday, July 15, some councillors expressed concern with increasing fees.

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Coun. Teresa Durning said it’s “a tough economic time” and some groups are struggling with meeting the current fees, and it may not be feasible for them to pay a higher rate.

Coun. Kari Gares indicated the gap between fees and costs should be bridged as the financial burden does get downloaded onto the taxpayer, but also said there wasn’t enough data from the tiered-recreation system to understand the financial impact of that model on parks and rec services. Gares asked that staff wait until data from the new user model was available so council could have a better picture of what the fees may need to look like moving forward.

However, other councillors did express concerns with the financial impact to user groups, but also said there was a need to raise the fees.

Coun. Kelly Fehr said he would not want to see the costs burden the taxpayers and would be in favour of the recommendations.

Coun. Akbal Mund added most people don’t know the fees for renting facilities do not come close to the costs of actually running and maintaining them, and that the five per cent increase doesn’t make much difference in closing the gap. He added not increasing the fees could mean cutting services to avoid going over budget, and supported the recommendations.

Coun. Brian Quiring added the Recreation Department was in the process of budgeting for 2025 and not increasing the fees could have impacts on services and staffing next year. He also noted inflation this year was higher than the proposed increase.

Council voted in favour of the increases, with Gares the lone vote in opposition.

by Liam Verster

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