I am wondering if anyone else in St. Albert is as aware and upset as I at what the City of St. Albert charges residents for a standardized criminal record check.
In St. Albert, residents pay $65.10. When I contacted surrounding municipalities, they all charged $30. If you get a hit on your name (which is likely because they only check against gender and birthdates now) you require fingerprinting. In St. Albert, you will pay $90.10 — plus a $25 processing fee for Ottawa. Again I checked with other municipalities, which only charge residents the $25 processing fee.
As St. Albert residents we don’t have the option of going elsewhere for this service, so if you require a criminal record check for employment be prepared to pay double that of surrounding communities (all other municipalities offer checks only for their residents). And, if further fingerprinting is required, the cost is triple the amount others are paying.
I understand that our property taxes are higher (city hall says because we have more and better services). I don’t know about that, but I love St. Albert and am OK with it, for the most part. However, to have pay so much more for a check that is standardized across the board is outrageous to me. I think it’s time for city council to know it is time to stop gouging St. Albert residents every time we turn around.
Leah Harasem, St. Albert
