Here's what Calgary fees are set to increase in 2018

New year, new costs: a number of City of Calgary passes and fees are set to increase on Jan. 1, 2018.

Aside from a municipal property tax hike of 3.8 per cent, city feeswill be going up to help the city with its four-year budget that saw some big adjustments this year due to the recession.

Water and sewer rates

First, the good news.

Water, wastewater and drainage rates will either be staying the same, seeing small increases, or even slightly decreasingin 2018. The city had initially approved major rate increases in 2018, but those were revised down for 2017 and 2018 to provide relief for cash-strapped Calgarians.

Wastewater rates will be increasing by 4.9 per cent instead of a planned 14.2 per cent, and drainage rates will be going up by 7.4 per cent instead of 19.1 per cent.

The city says the typical monthly water, wastewater and drainage bill for a family of four will increase by $1.88 per month.The costs will vary slightly based on whether ahouseholdis on a metered or flat rate.

Calgary Transit fees increasing

Calgary Transit tickets and passes will be increasing for the second year in a row, after staying unchanged from 2015 to 2016. The biggest increase is for seniors, who will have to shell out $40 more for annual passes.

Single ride adult tickets will now be a somewhat awkward $3.30 (or, an opportunity to use up all thosenickels fromthe change jar at home), and monthly passes are increasing by $2 to $103. If you buy a pass every month, that's an extra $24 per year.

Low-income seniors' passes are increasing 25 per cent in 2018 to $20, to keep in line with the big price jump in seniors' annual passes, while adult low-income passes are seeing a smaller increase of between 10 cents and $1, based on each price band.

Parks and recreation

Parks and pathway rentals will go up next year, with the largest increases hitting those renting green space for large gatherings. If you want to hold a 500-person wedding in a park, it will cost you $1,350.35 up from $1,307.21 last year.

Annual pool passes are increasing slightly, by about $20, and general admissions are going up by about 30 cents.

Both leisure centre fees and ice rental rates are set to have slight increases this year. There will likely be increases to golfing fees, driving range fees and rental rates as well, but the city says those new rates likely won't be confirmed until late January.

Garbage, recycling and composting

In 2017, the city waived costs for its new composting program as it rolled out, but the new rate of $6.50 per month will come into effect in 2018 for a total of $78 per year. The fee for waste management will stay unchanged, but recycling rates will tick up 20 cents per month for an increase of $2.40 per year.

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