SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Andy Barnet was shocked when he went to city hall to register his two snowmobiles last week and discovered the fee had doubled since last year.

Jason Clarke, assistant manager of Force One, said if the city is going to double the cost of registering a snowmobile, it should put some of the money toward enhancing the sport. - Nicole Veerman/NNSL photo

When he bought his registration in October 2009, Barnet paid $25 for each machine. This year he was charged $50 each.

"It's outrageous," said Barnet. "I don't understand how they can justify doubling the registration."

Licence plates and insurance are required for any snowmobile that is used within city limits.

City council increased registration fees to recover the cost of enforcing the snowmobile bylaw, said Doug Gillard, manager of municipal enforcement.

"Snowmobiling is a privilege," he said. "About 10 per cent of the people in Yellowknife own a snowmobile, so we thought that the cost of operating those snowmobiles within town and the cost related to enforcing it should be borne by the people operating the snowmobiles, not by the rest of the tax base."

Costs include plates, paper, administrative staff time, two snowmobiles for bylaw officers, gear and enforcement time, said Gillard.

The fee increase was phased in last year, with the price rising to $40 on Nov. 1, 2009, then $50 on Jan. 1.

For comparison, it costs $83 to register a vehicle with the GNWT drivers and licensing office that can be driven 12 months a year.

More than 1,600 registration tags were sold in 2008 and the city estimates 1,700 were sold in 2009.

With the price increase, about $85,000 was made through snowmobile registration in 2009.

Jason Clarke, assistant manager of Force One, said if the money was being used to enhance the sport then the increase would be easier to stomach.

"Doubling it, I think, is a huge stretch if they're going to put it

toward enforcement," he said.

"If they're going to double the cost, they should really look at maintaining the trails within the city. I'd like to see some bang for my buck."

Gillard said he wasn't sure how much time officers spend enforcing the snowmobile bylaw and against snowmobile speeding on trails and streets, pointing out that a lot of it depends on the weather.

"It's starting to look like our season is going to be starting late compared to other years because of this unusual weather we're having and we don't go out when there's no traffic," he said.

It is a priority for municipal enforcement during the winter months, though.

"It's a fairly high risk activity and it has to be regulated," said Gillard.

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