WESTLOCK – Fees and fines in Westlock County are staying the same for now after being kicked back to staff for further work.
The county’s Fees, Rate & Charges Bylaw, which received first reading at Council’s Dec. 12 meeting, got additional scrutiny at council’s Committee of the Whole meeting Jan. 9.
Councillors asked staff about penalties for unauthorized developments, campground, cemetery and other fees.
Chief Administrative Officer Tony Kulbisky said 95 per cent of ratepayers follow all the rules, and staff is working on a communications plan to ensure residents know they need to ask before building anything on their property.
Coun. Stuart Fox-Robinson asked staff if the fines of $250 for a first offence and $500 for subsequent offences seemed sufficient.
“If you’re asking for my personal opinion, I think those fees are not a deterrent,” Kulbisky said, adding that they should be increased and applied without a first warning.
Coun. Francis Cloutier asked why it cost $120 for a permit to install a hot tub and $160 to do any kind of demolition work. “You charge people $160 to knock down their shed?” he said. “I wouldn’t do it.”
Collin Steffes, the County’s general manager of planning and community services, said the hot tub fee is required to ensure hot tubs are secured against accidental drowning, and that staff would come back to council for clarity on the amount of the fees.
Council directed staff to bring the bylaw back to a future Committee of the Whole this spring.
