Spread relatively thinly among the
hundreds of people who register for the
programs, the increases would mean an
estimated $370,000 in additional revenue
in 2008 and an added $320,000 in
2009.
That is a drop in the bucket when
compared to the enormous expenditure
of millions for a city hall building overhaul
but it is sizable in terms of the
opportunity it presents to cover off the
cost of properly maintaining Oshawa’s
top notch recreational offerings in a
growing city that values recreational
pursuits.
Local taxpayers get a pretty decent
bang for their buck when it comes to the
myriad quality neighbourhood parks
and recreational programs on offer.
Our neighbours to the west in
Whitby, for example, don’t have the
breadth of offerings that Oshawa does.
Their town has no learn-to-skate program.
Residents there pay more expensive
private and non-profit organizations
for similar programs. Other programs
offered there have equivalents in
Oshawa that are several dollars cheaper
per session.
That’s why some trek over to
Oshawa once a week to take advantage
of such offerings. Should your taxpayer
dollars be subsidizing a program provided
to out-of-towners? Councillor
Tito-Dante Marimpietri is on the right
track when he suggests that Oshawa
should do what neighbouring municipalities
do and raise user fees for people
who live outside the city but take advantage
of the facilities here.
That would be fair and practical.
The city is also correct in looking to
possibly introduce a reasonable rental
fee for outdoor soccer fields and baseball
diamonds used by child and youth
sports teams. They have been getting a
free ride for too long. Why should they?
These facilities need to be properly
groomed and maintained especially
when regularly in use as they are.
With the extra revenue in their pocket,
the city should make an extra effort
to ensure that sufficient subsidies are
available to those children who want to
participate in programs but whose families
have proven financial need. |
