COLD LAKE - City of Cold Lake council unanimously approved an increase to the animal care and control fees for 2025.
The adjustments were finalized after three readings were conducted in a single evening at the Nov. 26 regular council meeting.
The fee adjustments are in line with council's direction to implement a 2.5 per cent increase across the City's fees, to account for inflation and rising costs, as detailed in the 2025 operating budget, according to information from the City of Cold Lake.
“We've got an amendment to the Animal Care and Control Bylaw in order to implement for 2025 what council has directed as a slight increase to all of the City's fees across the board,” explained Kristi Isert, general manager of Corporate Services for the City of Cold Lake.
She provided a breakdown of the adjustments, which aim for a modest increase, while keeping the numbers practical.
“We've included what the 2024 licence fee is, and then what we're proposing for 2025 annual license fees. We've tried to hit that about 2.5 per cent increase, but also to sort of round the numbers to make it make sense so we're not trying to collect pennies,” she said.
The basic license fee for dogs and cats will rise from $75 to $77.50. Similarly, the reduced rate for spayed or neutered animals will increase from $20 to $20.50. The Vicious Animal License fee will go from $250 to $260, while replacement licenses will remain unchanged at $10.
Impound fees are also seeing slight adjustments, with daily care fees moving from $20 to $21 and animal intake fees increasing from $60 to $62.
To ensure timely renewal notices for 2025 licenses, council expedited the bylaw's approval process.
“In order to give us enough time to send out the renewal notices for the licenses, we are recommending that council consider giving first, second, consent for third, [and] the third and final reading for the bylaw this evening,” said Isert.
Council passed all necessary motions to approve the fee increases for the upcoming year.
