The City of Ottawa decided not to pass it's 2009 budget proposal which would have increased ice rental fees by 51 per cent. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Minor hockey in Canada's capital has been saved.

At a meeting Monday, Ottawa city council voted against raising recreational facility fees by a proposed 51 per cent in its 2009 budget.

Instead, councillors opted to raise taxes by 4.9 per cent and increase the cost to rent ice rinks by 7.5 per cent.

"It was a complete surprise," said Tim Tierney, president of Ottawa's Beacon Hill North Community Association.

"It's clear the councillors were acting in the interests of their respective communities."

Reg Mac Donald, president of Ottawa's Gloucester Centre Minor Hockey Association, agreed.

"They were supposed to have a long debate, but they just said, 'We'll put taxes up 4.9 per cent,' and then they got money from other places, so hockey goes up 7.5 per cent," he said.

"It's a small victory for us."

Outdoor rinks survive

As well, funding for outdoor rinks was untouched, meaning that 230 city rinks will remain open. All financing for outdoor facilities had been on the chopping block.

"It was quite a flip-flop," Mac Donald said of the board's reversal.

Mac Donald said his organization will still be forced to increase registration fees, but now it will be a more "workable number" than if the original plan had been passed.

"If it had been 51 [per cent], we would have had to put our rates up by $100 or $200…. Now it will go up maybe $20 or $30," he said.

The average registration cost per child in the Gloucester association is $445. This year, Mac Donald said, the group was able to avoid raising signup fees, but next year that will be impossible.

"We operate to break-even. We're non-profit…. But even though it's 7.5 per cent, it's still 7.5 per cent of a higher number every year," he said.

Public spoke up

Mac Donald credited a strong public reaction as the reason why the city backed down on its plan.

"They were listening to what the public wanted.…There was a petition, people were e-mailing their councillors, there were public debates over the proposals," he said.

"Hockey is expensive enough as it is…. Registration rates are basically based on the cost to rent ice, and if that's high, registration rates will be even higher, and a lot of people wouldn't be able to play anymore," Mac Donald said.

He noted that less wealthy families are most affected by the rise in fees, especially in the current economic slump.

"The lower and middle class, that's where I fall, and I've got two boys in the game. It would have been crazy if we'd had to add $200 to registration rates. We'd have lost a lot of families," he said, noting that some families will still be affected by slightly higher fees.