Updates to the 2025 User Fees and Charges

At a recent Council Meeting, Grimsby Council approved updates to the 2025 User Fees and Charges. User fees are used by municipalities to fund programs and services that provide individual benefit or limited benefit to the community as a whole. Charging these fees helps to limit what is recovered from property taxes.

The new user fees will be effective January 1, 2025. 

The purpose of the update is to ensure the fees imposed are charged at a reasonable cost to support services and programs provided by the Town. These are services not covered by property taxes and some examples include dog licenses, cemetery interments, and the purchase of marriage licenses. 

The approved updates relate to fees for services provided by: Animal Control, Building, By-law enforcement, Cemeteries, Clerks, Committee of Adjustment, Finance, Fire Services and the Grimsby Regional Training Centre, Library, Planning and Development, Public Works and Water.

Please note that User Fees related to Recreation Facility Rentals or Recreational Programming were not part of this update, and those fees will remain in effect until future updates. Water and Wastewater consumption rates are also excluded from the proposed fee schedule changes and will be updated as part of the 2025 budget process.

Fees are reviewed periodically to ensure that they align with the cost of the service provided. To arrive at the rates, the Town conducted a comprehensive study of each service area. To learn more about the study, see report FIN-24-32 at the link here:  https://pub-grimsby.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=49ca9d33-69dd-4b99-acf2-5d5198fafc7b&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English

The new fees are outlined in By-law 24-78 and can be viewed here: https://pub-grimsby.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=3e587cba-e2f0-41b4-b846-256091870566&Agenda=Merged&lang=English&Item=24&Tab=attachments