Local fees in Ostrava remain unchanged in 2018

The fees collected by the City of Ostrava from citizens (waste collection) and visitors (hotel guests) will remain the same in 2018 as in previous years. Other fees are collected by individual municipal districts (for dogs and the use of public areas); these too will remain unchanged in 2018.

Deputy Mayor Iveta Vozňáková gave more details:

We have not changed the fees paid by citizens and visitors this year. The waste collection fee has remained unchanged since 2005, and the hotel fee has likewise remained the same since its introduction in 2013. We collect around 130 million CZK per year from both fees (125 million for the waste collection and 5 million from hotel guests).

The waste collection fee is used to fund the collection of various types of waste – including biodegradable waste, sorted waste, plus the large waste container system, the clearance of unauthorized dump sites (fly-tipping), the operations of Ostrava’s recycling centres, and public education programmes focusing on how to sort and dispose of waste. The hotel fee is used to support tourist centres and various events held in Ostrava.

The waste collection fee in Ostrava remains at 498 CZK per person per year, even though since 2013 municipalities have been legally permitted to set the fee at any level up to a maximum 1000 CZK if necessary in order to cover the actual costs of collecting and disposing of unsorted waste. In Ostrava’s case, these actual costs exceed the sum collected in fees, but the City has nevertheless decided not to increase the fees. The actual costs in 2013 were 571 CZK per person, and currently they are around 566 CZK – so this year the City is subsidizing waste collection with a contribution of 68 CZK per person from its own budget. New waste collection services were introduced in 2017 – including biodegradable waste bins offered free of charge – but at no extra cost to households.

Iveta Vozňáková gave more details:

The City of Ostrava covers the difference between income and expenditure on waste collection, which amounts to roughly 40 million CZK per year. This figure is gradually falling due to the increased amounts of waste that are being sorted by citizens. In fact, in 2013 Ostrava won an award for being the Czech regional capital with the lowest local fees for seniors and families.

Other fees paid by citizens – not to the City, but to its individual municipal districts – are fees for dogs and use of public space. Dog fees are set by each individual district, and range from 100 to 2250 CZK per year – depending on the number of dogs in a household and whether they live in a detached house or an apartment block. Starting this year there are substantial discounts for old-age pensioners still in regular employment.

Iveta Vozňáková gave more information:

In the case of the dog fees, from 2018 we have removed the provision that made it impossible for senior citizens to benefit from the discount even if they were only working occasionally. Now, every old-age pensioner automatically gets the discount.

The lowest possible dog fee is 100 CZK. Some municipal districts have reduced the fee from 1500 to just 200 CZK for pensioners in employment. Municipal districts also collect fees for use of public space – dump sites, parking, and the use of public areas for cultural, sporting or commercial events. The fee is also paid by TV and film crews using public areas for filming.