Cold Lake city council is considering a multi-year plan to gradually increase recreation user and rental fees, after staff found the city’s fees are among the lowest in Alberta.
“Staff have been researching user fees that other communities have adopted across the province, and Cold Lake has consistently been shown to have very low user fees, sometimes by a very significant margin,” said Mayor Bob Mattice. “While we want to maintain a measure of affordability, this has to be balanced with respect for the taxpayer in general. The municipality balances revenue from user fees and property taxes. The council is considering adjustments to user fees over time to achieve a balance between what the community pays for services that are not universally used and what is collected through property taxes.”
During the 2026 budget deliberations council voted to increase user fees by approximately two percent to help offset the ongoing inflationary pressures.
A comparison of recreation fees across 30 Alberta municipalities showed Cold Lake had the lowest fees among the group in five of 10 categories. Administration noted that appropriate fee setting helps balance affordability with long-term sustainability of facilities and programs.
“Cold Lake has done a great job with its recreation programming and offering top-notch facilities to our residents,” Mattice said. “Visitors are consistently impressed with the level of service they see in Cold Lake. Council felt that to maintain the facilities and programming we have, especially when inflation has been running hot, it is important to maintain a sustainable level of cost recovery in our operations.”
Council’s Corporate Priorities Committee directed administration to continue analyzing user fees. Council said it would consider a five-year plan to adjust its fee structure to allow user groups to adjust as needed.
Initial analysis from the administration suggests that some recreation fees, such as ice rentals, may need to increase by 24-42 percent over five years to align with other communities, excluding future market adjustments elsewhere. The impact on recreational fees would vary, with some appearing to align well with comparable market rates.
“We are still very focused on affordability, and we want to keep recreation and city programming as accessible as possible,” said Mattice. “But when you see that some of the fees you are charging are the lowest in the province by a significant margin, it’s only appropriate to take a step back and make sure everything is where it needs to be.”
Council requested administration present a few models in a multi-year restructuring plan for the user fee policy at a future meeting.
