2017 could well be the Year of the User Fee in Sault Ste. Marie.
With cIty staff signaling that they're looking at user fees as a principal tool to balance unfairly high tax ratios on industrial and commercial properties, Ward 1 councillors Paul Christian and Steve Butland are talking about establishing toll collection stations for large commercial vehicles at all entry points to the city.
In a resolution to be presented to City Council on Monday, Christian and Butland lament the province's unwillingness to share in the rising cost of maintaining Black Road and other city thoroughfares that function as connecting links to provincial highways or border crossings.
The ward-buddies are upset that the city received nothing this year from a newly reinstated provincial program that paid up to 90 percent of the cost of such roads.
Ironically, the program had been unveiled in the Sault one year earlier, in part because we have the largest share of connecting links in the province, at 24.5 kilometres.
In a separate user-fee resolution, Ward 6 councillor Ross Romano and his Ward 3 counterpart Matthew Shoemaker will ask that consideration be given to charging higher fees to non-residents of the Sault who use the city landfill site.
The following is the full text of the two resolutions.
Monday's City Council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday.
*************************
Black Road widening project
Mover: Councillor P. Christian
Seconder: Councillor S. Butland
Whereas Sault Ste Marie has 24 kilometres of connecting links roads within its boundaries; and
Whereas 35 per cent of arterial roads in Sault Ste. Marie are designated as connecting links; and
Whereas the provincial government does not provide any funding for winter control, line painting, or maintenance of any kind; and
Whereas the Black Road widening between McNabb Street and Second Line, which is estimated to cost $5.6 million to complete, is ineligible for funding as MTO [Ontario Ministry of Transportation] deems the increased traffic to be locally generated; and
Whereas Sudbury and Thunder Bay each have a bypass which diverts commercial traffic around their communities; and
Whereas the government of Ontario funds all maintenance and repairs for these roads which local traffic in these communities access on a constant basis; and
Whereas in 2014, MTO deferred all route planning and environmental assessments for a 17E/17N by-pass, and the connection of 17E to Black Road at Second Line for at least 10 years;
Now therefore be it resolved that council request that staff provide an update on any current developments relating to the widening of Black Road, and any funding options that would allow for the completion of this work;
Further that staff investigate the possibility of establishing tolls at all entry points to the city where fees can be charged to all large commercial vehicles entering the city which would help defray the escalating costs of maintaining connecting links roads which these commercial vehicles damage as a result of continued use.
**************************
City landfill site
Now therefore be it resolved that staff report to council by 2017 02 01 with respect to potential additional costs of dumping at the landfill by non-residents of Sault Ste. Marie; and
Further that staff report to council on a mechanism to ensure that only non-residents of Sault Ste. Marie are required to pay a greater fee for use of the city landfill site.
*************************