HST affecting services

Increased fees for city services will have an additional 8 per cent added to them this coming summer.

Ontario’s harmonized sales tax will affect city services by adding onto the cost starting in July. The City of Thunder Bay proposed to increase fees to services throughout the city including golf courses and parks.

Golf service fees will go up by 4 per cent for memberships and 3 per cent for green fees. Tom Forsythe, director of Golf Services, said the increased fees are to generate revenue and offset the HST.

"We won’t be getting anything of that 8 per cent," Forsythe said. "The increased fees I’m proposing are for revenues that we will get."

Admission for Chippewa Park and Trowbridge Park will rise to 10 per cent. Coun. Joe Virdiramo said he is concerned attendance will decrease because of the increase and HST,

"Once it goes up, use will go down," Virdiramo said. "That means we as a city will have to subsidize more."