Private contractors who haul snow to Saskatoon's three snow dump sites are asking city council to keep future user fees reasonable.

The city plans to introduce fees to cover the growing cost of maintaining the dump sites, which are currently paid for out of residential property taxes.

Administrators say the cost has increased considerably, from $50,000 a decade ago to a $1 million this winter.

Mike Gutek, the manager of infrastructure services, says demand for the dump sites grows every year.

"When they're needed, there are four-to-five-hundred trucks per hour," he said. "We've got roughly a million cubic metres of snow in storage in the three. So those are significant amounts of material."

The city held an open house Wednesday evening at the Frances Morrison Library for contractors and property owners who will be most affected by the change. James Gibson says they shouldn't have to pick up the entire tab.

"My hope would be that council realizes this isn't just something business owners or tenants or business tenants should bear 100 per cent," he told CBC news.

In addition to public consultations, the city has set up a website for people to provide input.