Development fees still under review

Last Monday, Wellington North Mayor Mike Broomhead offer­ed an update on proposed de­vel­opment charges in the township.

Broomhead wants to gather the opinions of all members of council prior to a decision.

“It’s important to get that input,” he said. “We have to hit the middle ground among the five of us.”

He said that within the five-member council there are five sets of opinions on what the charges should be and how they should be implemented.

Broomhead also believes it is unlikely the municipality will achieve a May 1 implementation date.

He said he wants a chance to see what other municipalities are doing. He added that no municipality seems to set or im­plement its rates in the same way.

Referring to the time be­tween a decision and implementation, Broomhead said he does not want council’s decision to have a negative impact to developers.

“We also need to take a long hard look at industrial and commercial [development char­ges].”

Councillor Dan Yake said that all of council feels they need a chance to evaluate the figures in the report.

“No doubt we have to discuss this,” said councillor Ross Chaulk. “… but it would be unfair to put the costs [of de­velopment] on the backs of the taxpayers.”

Broomhead is not sure there is a right decision for everyone, but council needs to make a good decision.

He stressed no decision will be made until councillor Bob Mason returns, so all of council will be involved. “We need to find a figure that is fair to the community and to allow for the growth of the community.”

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