Lethbridge City Council has approved a comprehensive review of all fees and charges. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

City of Lethbridge to review all fees and charges

Dec 4, 2025 | 10:18 AM

A major, comprehensive review of all fees that the City of Lethbridge charges its residents and businesses will soon get underway.

Lethbridge City Council voted unanimously at this week’s meeting for the motion introduced by councillor Belinda Crowson.

It stated that the City Manager will be directed to conduct a comprehensive review of all user fees, charges, and rate structures levied by the City of Lethbridge, including but not limited to permits, licenses, utility rates, and service charges.

Lloyd Brierley and his team will provide a rationale for each fee and benchmark it against comparable municipalities.

Darrell Mathews, Chief Financial Officer with the City of Lethbridge, adds that this project will require a lot of work as it will be the first comprehensive review of all fees and charges in many years.

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He adds that this work will likely cost between $100,000 and $150,000, although an exact figure has yet to be determined. The money will come from the existing operating budget, meaning that no additional funds will need to be allocated.

Crowson says getting the information is a crucial first step, as it will drive many decisions going forward.

“That then becomes the role of council for that philosophical discussion, a strategic discussion when we have that information,” explains Crowson. “In what situations should users pay? How much? What are the pros and cons? How much should taxpayers pay for?”

Crowson says it is not necessarily the case that these levies will increase, as some of them are outdated and can either be reduced or eliminated altogether.

The review is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2027.

The full list of all user fees, charges and rate structures will be summarized and published in a single document, which will be made available to the public.

Crowson says the review will be a key component in deliberating the 2028-2031 operating budget. Those discussions are tabled for fall 2027.