City council members will consider the first of a series of increases to fees and charges the city levies on a range of services when they meet on Wednesday.
Most of the hikes as proposed are for three per cent and are to continue for the next four years to keep revenues in line with rising costs, subject to yearly confirmations by council.
Perhaps closest to home will be a two-per-cent hike to the solid waste service. If approved it will translate into boosts in the charge for garbage collection of $3 for small, $4 for medium and $5 for large containers and add $3.61 to the cost of manual collection for a household.
A rejigging of the way households and businesses are charged for sanitary sewer usage will also be up for debate. A system like that used for water is proposed where the charge to metered customers is split into a flat charge tied to the size of the pipe to cover the capital cost of the service and a charge per gallon to cover the operating cost. The flat charge would continue to be levied even if the service is not being used.
For the average household on a metered system, the bill for sewer and water would rise by 48 per cent to $818.67 per year but at $995.78, households paying a flat rate regardless of consumption would still pay more. Moreover, metered customers have the ability to reduce their bills through conservation, it was also noted in a report to council.
Three-per-cent increases are in store for the cost of renting civic facilities, including arenas, swimming pools and sports fields, the Civic Centre and the Prince George Playhouse.
The same three-per-cent hike is also looming for the rate charged to private haulers using the city's snow dump, as well as for installation or extension of access culverts, connecting storm sewers, and making and installing street signs.
Fees charged by the Prince George RCMP for such services as criminal record checks, police information checks, analyst reports and false alarm fees are also due for a three-per-cent increase, as are those provided by the fire department.
And the fees for off-street parking are up for a two-per-cent rise.
Also on the agenda, staff will ask council for permission to apply to Transport Canada for $25,000 to pay for a software tool to measure the "duration ratio" between the fastest route to a destination and the safest.
