Non-resident user fees are coming to the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre.
Mayor Bill Gordon said Midland doesn’t really have a choice but to start collecting fees from area residents who don’t pay taxes to the municipality.
“The rationale is to help offset the ongoing capital and operational costs that have been borne primarily by the Midland ratepayer since it (NSSRC) was built 20 years ago,” Gordon told MidlandToday.
“While Tiny recently ended their yearly contribution to the NSSRC, their contributions were trivial when compared to what they funded the Midland Public Library.”
Gordon said Tiny was the only neighbouring municipality that was on a funding agreement, “small as it was,” since the municipalities came together 20 years ago to build the multi-use sports and recreation complex.
“So, if this is truly the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre, then it should be co-funded accordingly and in that absence, non-resident fees take care of that to a small but necessary degree.”
Gordon said the building is in need of repairs, including a new roof, many new HVAC units to replace aging systems, upgrades to the ice plants, sprinkler-system repairs, a new standby generator since the facility is the designated regional emergency evacuation centre, change-room repairs and other upgrades.
Beyond the capital pressures, Gordon said the facility costs nearly $1.8-million tax dollars to operate yearly.
“These types of assets are not money-makers, and most in small urban towns around Canada, are lucky to break even,” he said.
“In our case, there is a business case for spreading some of the costs that our residents shoulder each year to our non-residents who use our services and facilities. It is starting with the largest consumers (organized sports) and will expand throughout the municipality in a measured and phased approach.”
Gordon said he discussed the issue with Tiny Mayor David Evans Friday morning and noted that it should be taken in the same context as the new library funding formula.
“Ultimately, it will be up to each municipality to decide if they want to have a funding agreement in place to negate the fee for their residents and I welcome that opportunity to work with our neighbours in that capacity.”
But while some local groups, including minor hockey, have come out against user fees in the past given the sport's high cost, Gordon said no one group will be immune to the new NSSRC fees and that includes Askennonia Senior Centre.
“As an already subsidized organization serving the senior population in North Simcoe, the mechanics of how this will be implemented has yet to come before council, but I want to assure the organized sports users that we are not playing favourites and the need to recover some of our costs from non-resident users will be borne equally as this new fee structure is phased in.”
Gordon said that Midland ratepayers currently pay about $200 each year to maintain the rec centre.
“The non-resident fee is proposed to match that,” he said. “We are not punishing our non-residents, and instead simply asking them to pay what we pay to make frequent use of the facility through an organized sport.
“Ad-hoc fees for casual use, and how we would implement that, are part of another phase and have yet to be presented to council but will be later this year.”
Gordon added that the sudden withdrawal of funding from Tiny and the notable lack of funding from other neighbouring municipalities were aggravating factors in council’s attempts to keep tax rates at or below the rate of inflation.
“In previous years, when the notion of non-resident fees came up as a funding source to help offset the growing costs of running the aging building, we rejected them since we did have a modest funding agreement in place,” Gordon said.
“With that sudden elimination just prior to our 2024 budget, and the very real financial pressures on our capital and operating budgets for that asset, a difficult decision needed to be made.
“If we didn't pass along some of the costs of the facility to non-residents, at least equal to those we tax our own residents for, then our taxes would increase for all 18,000 of our residents, many of whom never use the NSSRC or do so infrequently.”
Gordon said that while he can sympathize with non-residents and how this change may impact them, his primary concern is for Midland residents.
“My allegiance is to Midland ratepayers and their families and keeping our taxes as low as possible – which in this case means asking non-residents to help pay their fair share for the assets and services they use in Midland.”
