City council's committee of the whole endorsed increases to garbage rates, business license fees and development application fees - but backed away from water and sewer rate increases of up to 15 per cent.
On Monday, the committee - made up of members of city council - endorsed a three per cent increase to solid waste fees, a 2.8 per cent increase to business license fees and an increase in the cost recovery on development applications from 15 per cent to 17 per cent. Recommendations from the committee must be forwarded to city council for final approval.
Tipping fees at the Foothills Regional Landfill are scheduled to increase from $55 per tonne to $58 per tonne in 2012.
Coun. Brian Skakun said the increase represents a systemic failure to control costs.
"I'm concerned about this. I think the system is broke - in more ways than one," Skakun said. "There'll be more and more tipping increases until the regional district does something to fix this."
For a household with a small container the proposed increase would mean the biannual cost for collection would increase from $69.53 to $71.62. A medium container would see the biannual bill rise from $91.16 to $93.90 and for a large container the cost jumps from $111.24 to $114.58 - if the cost increases are distributed evenly.
Mayor Dan Rogers said the city will have to pay the increased tipping fees, an additional cost of approximately $45,000, through utility fees or general revenue.
"This is not a question of cost, it's a question of how we pay," Rogers said.
The committee also unanimously supported a 2.8 per cent increase in business license fees. Under the proposed increase, the annual business license for a restaurant would increase $6 to $237 per year. For a car dealership the increase will amount to $24 per year.
"It's a heck of a way to commemorate small business week and month," Coun. Garth Frizzell said. "But it's already worked into the budget."
The development application fee increase would increase the cost for developments $50 to $200 for a typical multifamily townhouse development.
"The only response from the development community is that they are reasonable increases," city planning and development
director Dan Milburn said.
The committee referred recommendations calling for 14 and 15 per cent increases to the city's water and sewer utility rates back to the finance and audit committee for further review.
The proposed increases were intended to repair the city's aging infrastructure,
Coun. Cameron Stolz said.
"We've got about $16 million of utility infrastructure that is due this year. If we don't' do anything, we're borrowing more money and getting further in the hole because of debt charges," Stolz said.
Coun. Murry Krause said even with the proposed increases, the city would not start catching up to its infrastructure deficit until 2016.
"Doing anything else is just delaying what needs to be done," Krause said.
However, not all members of city council agreed. Council unanimously approved referring the reports back to finance and audit for further consideration.
"I'm opposed to any further catch up at this point," Coun. Dave Wilbur said.
