Guelph-Eramosa Township has increased its Sports field rental fees by 7.4 per cent, largely to offset impacts from the increased minimum wage in Ontario.
Parks and recreation director Robin Milne told council on Dec. 18 the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, which increased minimum wage in Ontario from $11.60 to $14 per hour on Jan. 1, is projected to have a $57,870 impact on wages for the department this year.
“That’s strictly driven by seasonal positions and by student positions,” Milne said. The 7.4% increase takes into account a 1.4% cost of living increase as well as a 6% increase to offset the new wages.
Milne explained this will be the only increase in Sports field rental fees over the entirety of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, noting it will hold when the minimum wage increases to $15 per hour in 2019.
“That’s important to note because then that’s a pretty significant increase,” Mayor Chris White said. “It’s 30 something per cent, the minimum wage increase, from 11 something to 15 bucks.”
Milne said the impact of the 7.4% increase in Sports field rental fees on individual users will likely be less than a dollar. “We’ll take Rockwood soccer for example, on their entire contract for a year it’s an increase of only … $407,” he said. “So, if you base that on 650 kids in their program it works out to 63 cents a child or per registrant.”
Other township fee increases for exercise classes, recreation classes, community centre rentals and cemetery fees have gone up according to cost of living increases as well as changes to subcontractor rates.
In December Milne said, “We’ve actually already started receiving letters from service providers indicating the rate increase for January 1.” In the case of Active 55 classes, the fees have increased slightly because fitness instructors are now being paid for an hour and 15 minutes for a one hour class. Previously they were only being paid for one hour.
“What that was allowing was the 15 minute preparation time for the instructors to show up, set up their class, signing people in and then teach their class,” Milne said.
For more information about the township’s fees for 2018 visit get.on.ca.
