Building Permit Fees Up for Discussion on Monday

A public meeting about a proposed Building Permit fee increase in Orillia takes place on Monday, February 4, 2013 at 6:15 p.m. in Council Chamber, 50 Andrew St. S.

At the meeting, staff will present to Council the following:

• Building Permit fees in Orillia are below the average charged by similar-sized Ontario communities and other municipalities in Simcoe County.
• The City of Orillia has not changed the fees or the way it calculates the fees, for five years.
• Ontario’s Building Code Act enables municipalities to charge Building Permit fees to offset costs related to serving users (e.g. builders, developers).
• The current Building Permit fees charged by the City do not cover the City’s cost of providing building inspection services, and the general taxpayer is paying a greater proportion of the service cost than is appropriate.
• The insufficient revenue leads to a shortfall in the City’s bottom line. A portion of the shortfall is recouped from the general taxpayer through Building Division reserves.
• Changing the way the Building Permit fees are calculated and charged in Orillia will make for more equitable cost distribution between builders and the general taxpayer.
• The proposed Building Permit fee calculation will lead to an average increase of 14 per cent for the development industry in 2013.
• The proposed increase would bring the City’s Building Permit fees in line with the average charged by similar-sized Ontario communities and other municipalities in Simcoe County.

Further information can be found in the report to Council for Monday, February 4, 2013.

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Media Contact Information:

Kelly Smith

Chief Building Official

705-325-2214

ksmith@orillia.ca

Joe Kim

Communications Manager

705-325-8929

jkim@orillia.ca