Council votes to waive field fees for 2012

Toronto's City Hall appears in this file photo. (CP24/Maurice Cacho)

City councillors voted unanimously to waive field fees for youth sports leagues for 2012 at a meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
Andrew Pace, president of the East York Baseball Association, called Tuesday's decision a great day for kids across the city – and a grand slam for the city.
"It's a home run for kids, it's a home run for organizations and it's a home run for council," Pace said.
"[Council] clearly recognizes that putting money in children and youth sports helps everybody out."
Pace added that going forward, any discussion on a fee increase needs to coincide with improved services for city fields, which he said are in desperate need of attention.
Youth sports leagues in Toronto have been crying foul recently after being slapped with the new municipal user fees that they say could compromise the upcoming season.
User fees were proposed as a means to boost city revenue in the controversial 2012 budget, which saw months of debate over services cuts.
The fees were expected to raise roughly $1.5 million for the city.
With files from The Canadian Press