SAVE THE DATE
The Toronto Sports Council is hosting a forum with the City of Toronto to talk about recent increases in permit fees for use of Toronto sports fields. Anyone who has been impacted by the recent changes is encouraged to come out, join in the discussion, and help decide on a solution that works.
What: Discussion on increases in field permit fees in City of Toronto
When: March 22, 2012 – 7:00 – 9:00pm
Where: Wellesley Community Center, 495 Sherbourne St
Who: The Toronto Sports Council, City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation staff, people and organizations impacted by field permit increases
Background Information
The recent City of Toronto 2012 Budget imposed hourly fees for children and youth sport fields. The fees represent a substantial increase without sufficient notice, consultation or consideration for the planning cycle of these volunteer organizations. This increase will have a significant impact on many of our neighbouring sport groups across the City and will diminish sport opportunities for those groups who will not be able to afford the increases.
In response to a motion by Councillors Sarah Doucette and Paula Fletcher, City Council has directed the General Manager of Parks, Forestry and Recreation to work with individual permit holders to establish flexible payment plans for the 2012 fees, develop a protocol for notifying groups in advance of fee changes in the future, and also report to Council on April 10th with a process for offering relief to those having financial difficulty complying with the new fee structure for sports fields’ permits. (See the Notice of Motion here)
Community Recreation Grants
We would also like to let you know about available funding.   We’ve attached the guidelines (click here), please note that the application deadline is March 29th. In addition, we have a funding resource guide on the Toronto Sports Council website (under the TSC resources tab).
What you can do before the forum
Sign Our Petition - The Toronto Sports Council will be advocating for the waiving of all fees for the 2012 season due to insufficient notice. We will discuss this issue at the forum and have started an online petition for those in support. The petition can be found at http://torontosportscouncil.ca
Talk to your City Councillor – Encourage you City Councillor to attend the forum and show support for the Toronto sport community and the children’s programs that will be affected by these changes.
