HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRPS-10-162 - Licensing Fees for DogsREPORT
REPORT TO:
Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
November 8, 2010
SUBMITTED BY:
Troy Speck, General Manager of Corporate Services
PREPARED BY:
Shayne Turner, Director of By-law Enforcement
WARD(S) INVOLVED:
All
DATE OF REPORT: November 1, 2010
REPORT NO.:
CRPS-10-162
SUBJECT:
LICENSING FEES FOR DOGS
RECOMMENDATION:
That the schedule of fees relating to dog licensing, as attached to Report No. CRPS-10-162, be
approved effective January 1, 2011; and further,
That Schedules A and B to Chapter 530 (Dogs) of the City of Kitchener Municipal Code be
amended to reflect the fees for licensing of dogs as outlined in Report No. CRPS-10-162.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Kitchener has agreements with the KW Humane Society to provide for animal
control services, shelter services, spay and neuter programs and the issuance of dog licenses.
Over the past several years the dog license fees, as administered by the Society, have been set
for the upcoming year through the typical process of approving the City’s fees and charges
schedule. However, for the 2011 process, the fees will not come into effect until March 2011.
This will cause difficulties for the Humane Society. As such, staff are seeking approval of the
2011 license fees earlier, in order that they come into effect on January 1, 2011.
REPORT:
The schedule of proposed license fees for 2011 are attached to this report. In general, staff are
proposing an increase of the various fees in the range of 2.5 to 3%. However, in order to round
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the dollar amount up or down to the nearest full dollar value, some of the percentages may be
slightly higher or lower.
In 2007, Council directed staff to implement a plan to increase license fees, starting in 2008, in a
manner that would bring them in line with the City of Waterloo. This direction resulted from the
fact that several years had past with no increases in Kitchener’s fees, causing a noticeable gap
between the fees charged by the 2 cities, where both cities have the same fee category (noting
that Waterloo has less license fee categories than Kitchener). As a result there were significant
fee increases for the 2008 fiscal year. In the following 2 years, the fee increases have been in
accordance with Council’s direction with respect to general percentage increases in the City’s
user fees and charges.
Based on what staff have learned with respect to Waterloo’s fee structure for 2011, our
proposed increase for 2011 will result in some fees being slightly higher than Waterloo’s by $1
to $2. This has resulted from differing percentage increases being applied over the past 2
budget cycles.
As noted on the schedule, some of the fees are adjusted based on when the license is obtained
within the calendar year. As such, this graduated fee structure would be problematic if the
complete schedule was not approved until March of next year. In addition, the KW Humane
Society will need as much advance notice as possible to order the appropriate forms for mailing,
as part of their annual licensing process.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Based on the City’s service contract with the KW Humane Society, the City currently receives
100% of the value of any license fee increase during the year. Otherwise, the licensing fees are
apportioned between the City and the Society based on the formula prescribed in the contract.
The average increase in licensing fees is approximately 2.5% and staff are estimating that this
will result in an increase of approximately $8,900 for the City, understanding that it is contingent
upon the number of licenses issued. These dollars will be used to help offset the overall cost to
the City for contracting animal control and shelter services, spay and neuter programs and the
issuance of dog licenses.
COMMUNICATIONS:
No Corporate Communications required.
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CONCLUSION:
Staff feel the proposed increases in the dog license fees, as attached to this report, are in line
with previous increases and should take effect on January 1, 2011, as opposed to the projected
effective date of March 2011, for the typical schedule of the City’s fees and charges.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Troy Speck, General Manager of Corporate Services
Encl.
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