Barrie pet owners may soon have to pay more for their pets.
The city is considering raising the licensing fees for cats and dogs. It’s a fee that a lot of people admit to not paying even though it’s mandated by city by-laws.
The city is considering a staff recommendation to raise the fees by one dollar as part of its 2015 budget.
The current license fee for a dog is $25 and $15 for a cat.
Currently, the fees generate about $110,000 in revenue for the city, but with so many unpaid fees the city figures it’s losing a lot more money.
“When you look at where it goes, generally the revenues collected by our service goes in to the general coffers for the municipality and it would help offset the cost for providing that service,” said Tammy Banting, manager of by-law services. “The one big factor is to ensure we have vaccination history on the animal, so we ensure rabies vaccinations are up to date.”
Councillors will discuss the issue Monday night and are expected to vote the matter next week.
If approved by council, the increase pet license fees could be in effect as early as May.
