The Penetanguishene City Council convened a special public meeting on July 11 to address issues concerning a staff report on whether or not to amend a by-law for a building permit fee increase. 

The amendment would allow for an automatic annual fee increase. While the meeting was open to the public, no citizens were present to express their concerns or ask questions about the amendment. That did not stop a heated debate about the wording of the amendment between councillors.

The current wording of the amendment states that there ‘may be an increase’ while the motion on the floor of the council states otherwise.

“It says it may be increased by the tax rate, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be,” says Councilor MacDonald. She continued, "That’s what our motion says. It will be indexed annually, but the by-law says it may be. So, we might decide during tax that we only want it increased by 2% because it doesn’t say it will be.”

The amendment to the by-law will be readdressed during the normally scheduled City Council meeting in September. This will allow councillors and citizens alike to learn more about the issue and bring forward any concerns they may have.

While the council was convened, they also heard presentations on community and social services, development charges and Penetanguishene Council’s asset management plan.

The conversation that proceeded after the development charges presentation also produced a heated conversation between the council, with the mayor expressing regrets council had not heard the presentation sooner.

All issues brought up during this council meeting will be readdressed during the regular council in the fall.