City council has agreed to potentially more than double the amount of money in its Recreation and Culture Subsidy Program.
The change won’t become official until the 2017 budget is approved, but council approved administrative recommendations that would increase the funding to $108,800 in 2017 from $40,000 in 2016.
This change would allow low-income residents discounted Servus Place memberships, on top of the existing program subsidies already available.
Anna Royer, business manager with the city’s community and protective services division, presented a report to council Nov. 7 comparing St. Albert’s recreation subsidies with other communities in the province.
She said for the past 15 years, the subsidy available to low-income residents and families has stayed consistent at $150 per year for an individual, or $400 per year for a family – amounts she described as “outdated.”
“One of the main challenges right now is we have a family maximum. If you’ve got a family of five or six, you’re making choices on which child gets to participate this year,” she said.
Royer also noted that the amount offered means low-income residents get “just a taste” of recreation in the community, as opposed to a more comprehensive experience.
“We’re hoping to expand that to make it more of a lifestyle choice for people to receive the benefits of recreation,” she said.
The new subsidy would be that every resident can get 60 per cent off a Servus Place membership, and that on top of that, youths would be able to get an additional $150 grant for registration in up to two city-run sports programs like swimming lessons.
“The reason we went looking at a Servus Place membership is when we looked at what people wanted to do, we say 67 per cent of people were looking for Servus Place memberships,” Royer explained.
She said for those families who couldn’t afford membership at even the discount level, free six-month passes would be offered – something Coun. Sheena Hughes suggested should be written right into the policy.
“If you’re making $20,000 per year, the odds of you being able to afford the membership even at 60 per cent off is pretty unlikely,” she said.
Usage has shown a general increase since 2010, with 74 applications on behalf of 225 people that year compared to 121 applications on behalf of 338 people in 2015.
Royer’s report indicates that while numbers vary year over year, 2016 is on track to be the busiest year yet. As of Sept. 30, there had been 143 successful applications on behalf of 429 people. Families typically use the program for one to three years, with about half the participants being new to the program each year.
Roughly two thirds of the subsidies go toward Servus Place memberships, including 10-visit passes, three-month memberships, summer passes and annual memberships. Twenty per cent go to swimming lessons, nine per cent go to Fountain Park memberships and four per cent go to fitness or recreation classes at Servus Place.
Eligibility is determined by after-tax family incomes, ranging from $21,495 for an individual to $43,036 for a family of four, and as high as $54,144 for a family of seven or more.
