Yoga class, cricket wicket hire charges included in Bayside Council fee hike plans

New fees for hiring cricket wickets and using public parks to hold yoga classes are among a range of charges set to be rolled out by Bayside Council this year.

A fee for holding yoga classes is among the new charges planned by Bayside Council.

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New fees for hiring cricket wickets and using public parks to hold yoga classes are among a range of charges set to be rolled out by Bayside Council this year.

Draft budget plans released by the council last week shows 46 new fees would apply to residents and visitors to the region from the start of the 2019/20 financial year.

Included are various fees for using public recreation areas including $115 charges for dog training groups, $115 permit fees for little athletics groups and $16 fees for each person taking part in yoga exercise classes.

There is also a $150 hourly fee for the casual hire of turf cricket wickets that the council said reflected the “cost of preparation and maintenance for the activity”.

The heftiest fee is a $2000 charge applying to developers referring a planning proposal to the council’s design excellence panel for review.

The budget plans also show various existing fees would rise above CPI including $250 fees for compliance certificates for swimming pools, up from $70, and $335 first child learn to swim class fees at aquatic centres, up from $298.

A council report said the increases were not intended to generate “profit” but rather “help offset cost increases” and “provide a better way of charging users for use of services and facilities”.

Hiring cricket wickets would incur new fees under the budget plans.

Budget documents show the council would generate a total of $12.1 million in fee revenue in 2019/20. The council is forecasting an overall cash surplus of $57,656 for the financial year.

A council spokesman said a “number of factors” had been considered for fees applying to sporting groups including whether clubs and members had the capacity to cover the charges. He said some of the fees “better reflected the actual service being provided”.

“Council takes into consideration a number of factors including cost of provision, historical fees, fees in surrounding LGAs and capacity to pay,” he said.

“The draft fees are at a level which are considered appropriate and affordable for the users of those facilities.”

Other new fees include $55 administrative charges for new food businesses opening in the region, $3 hourly computer usage fees for non-members at libraries and a range of charges for sport groups based outside the council boundaries using Bayside’s facilities.

Councillors last week voted to put the draft budget out for community feedback.

The council spokesman said the “continued pressure” of rising costs included increases for “services relating to wages and materials which exceed our capacity to increase revenue”.