Park fees going up to help cover minimum wage hike
Conservation official says higher fees are expected to generate an extra $120,000
People will pay more to visit conservation areas in the new year to help cover the cost of increasing the minimum wage to $14 on Jan. 1.
A 2018 operating budget approved by Hamilton Conservation Authority directors raises admission charges and other fees by an average of 3.5 per cent, and eliminates an hourly parking option at some locations.
Visitors will now pay a flat fee of $5 to park at Tiffany Falls, the Eramosa Karst, Devil’s Punch Bowl and two spots in the Ancaster portion of the Dundas Valley, rather than $2 per hour.
Parking charges at other conservation areas are also being harmonized with those at Webster’s Falls, where a $10 fee doesn’t include the driver. All occupants five years and older will now pay $5, though seniors will get a $2 break on the vehicle charge.
Parking at Confederation Beach Park, which is managed by the authority but owned by the city, will continue to be free. But admission to Wild Waterworks will increase by 15 per cent to nearly $30 for adults and $19.45 for children.
Treasurer Neil McDougall said the higher fees are expected to generate an extra $120,000 to help the authority absorb the higher minimum wage for seasonal workers such as lifeguards, and still keep the city’s levy increase at 1.5 per cent as requested by council.
He said the minimum wage hike represents an 18.5 per cent increase for the authority and will be more difficult to manage if it jumps another dollar in January 2019 as scheduled. The current rate is $11.60.
“There’s a lot of reasons to support the concept, it’s just coming in one year is rather harsh and it’s creating some problems trying to adjust to accommodate that,” he said.
The city will contribute just under $4.4 million to the $12.7-million operating budget, an increase of $65,000 over this year.
Admissions, concession sales, camping charges and marina fees at conservation areas are the biggest revenue generators for the budget and projected to top $5 million in 2018.
McDougall said budget allocates 2.5 per cent for permanent staff wage increases but also cuts one full-time position each at Fifty Point, the Dundas Valley and Christie Lake.