With plans for the Preston Memorial Auditorium expansion underway, upcoming construction of the new recreation complex and the Fountain Street soccer complex set to open later this year, the City of Cambridge is looking for ways to generate more revenue from user fees.
The last time the city reviewed its user rates was in 2020 when it found that its revenue from fees dropped from 8.5 per cent in 2017 to 8.2 per cent in 2019.
The next review will come as part of the city’s 2023 Recreation Services Master Plan.
As it turns out, the city brings in far less revenue on the fees for its facilities than neighbouring Kitchener and Waterloo.
For comparison, Kitchener and Waterloo collected 23.8 per cent and 14.3 per cent of revenue from user fees in 2019, respectively.
When it comes to covering the costs of recreation programs, 16 per cent was covered by user fees in 2019. That number is below the provincial average of 17 per cent. Kitchener and Waterloo were able to cover 31 per cent and 20 per cent.
In dollars, the city plans to generate $5.9 million this year through user fees and charges for recreation facilities such as ice rentals, field rentals and recreation programs.
Bringing in more revenue is a goal of the master plan but it’s important to do it in a fair and sustainable way, the city says.
“The planned 2023 project for the Recreation Services Master Plan includes a component of reviewing the recreation user fees and the level of subsidization,” Victoria Terella, supervisor of financial planning for the City of Cambridge said.
“The city will be developing a strategy to phase in increases to fees so that we're more in line with the comparators.”
There are a number of reasons fees don’t cover the full cost of the service provided, such as times when council has approved a subsidy or an exemption and if services benefit the community or general public and not just an individual, a select group of individuals or business sectors.
Some fees are also determined by the competition in the open market or set by provincial legislation, Terrella says.
Additionally, it's dependent on the facility being used and the amount of effort it takes to prepare and maintain it.
“User fees can differ based on the amenities provided,” Terrella said.
“Field rentals can differ based on natural versus artificial and maintenance standards.”
The tax base is then used to subsidize recreation fees as they're not set to fully recover the cost.
Rob Hedges, who has been involved with girls minor hockey, minor baseball and is the general manager of the Cambridge Rivulettes, feels the city’s rates have stayed relatively consistent, all things considered.
“They really haven't changed much,” Hedges said.
“The city held the ice prices all through COVID and going into next year ice will be the same as this year.”
Hedges believes the rates that are charged by the city are fair given the amount of service that is provided.
“The history of Cambridge fees is that compared to our neighbours in Kitchener and Waterloo, our rates for both ice and fields are a lot less,” he said.
“As an example, in Cambridge the coaches have to line and prep their own fields as the city doesn't do it or have staff at every park. So we pay less but get less service.”
Based on his experience, organizations don’t typically inform parents on the cost to use the city facilities and rarely are they asked about it as it’s just one line on the entire balance sheet of costs for the season.
Regardless of the cost or any increases, Hedges believes it’s up to the individual organizations to find a way to keep registration prices fair.
“It's the organization's complete responsibility to assess their cost for a season and make sure that each participant, house league or travel, is being treated fairly based on the amount of the resources they use.”
