Residents of Sylvan Lake and area will soon see a rate increase on their water and sewer bills following a vote by Town Council on Monday evening.
A public hearing was held followed by second and third readings. Bylaw 1721/2016, an amending bylaw to the Water and Sewer Bylaw (#1692/2015) includes the following three amendments:
- The addition of a definition for the Regional Wastewater Commission
- The addition of providing authority to the Chief Administrative Officer to limit wastewater use in emergency situations
- An updated Schedule B that includes utility rate increases
Each customer using 20 cubic metres of water per month will see an increase to their water and wastewater utility accounts of:
- Residential: $21.OO per month or $252 per year
- Commercial: $19.60 per month or $235.20 per year
The rate increases will take effect on or about January 30, 2017.
Flat rate charges fund capital replacements of aging infrastructure while consumption/collection charges fund the year-to-year operation of the respective utilities and contributions to reserve for new infrastructure. A combination of utility reserve funding, grants and off-site levies funds new infrastructure required to service growth.
The 2014 Infrastructure Study recommended the Town increase utility reserve contributions by increasing utility rates to fund water/wastewater main replacements and fire flow restrictions within the utility network over the next 20-25 years, at a cost of approximately $3.9 million per year. In 2015, Council elected to spread the utility rate increases over three years; 2017 is the third year of those recommended increases.
Prior to the decision made at Monday night’s meeting the Town communicated the proposed rate increases to the public within the “2017 Municipal Budget” booklet, on their web page, at a budget display in the foyer at the Municipal Government Building, and through the media. The Town will send a utility bill insert to all utility customers over the next two months further explaining the rate increases.
Administration will also communicate information to the public throughout the year on reducing water consumption. The amount of water used by the customer determines the wastewater collection-billing amount so therefore the customer can reduce their bill by practicing water conservation.
As of January 3,2017, the Town had received no comments from the public regarding this proposed bylaw.
Councillor Matt Prete stated he wasn’t crazy about the increases “especially in this type of a year.”
“I sure hope we’re not planning on any more [increases] next year or in the near future.” he added. “I’m concerned about it because it’s a significant cost. It comes back to that cumulative affect and I think we ought to be careful.”
Councillor Dale Plante stated he felt the decisions they were making was a proactive one.
“We aren’t making reactionary decisions here, we are making proactive decisions on where we’re going. What I like is that we did our homework on this,” said Plante. “I don’t like increases - I don’t like spending money on anything and I totally agree with comments about being careful. This is for the good of all residents, not just the ones that are here but the ones that are coming - we’re an expanding town.”
Councillor Jas Payne added he agrees with Prete that he doesn’t like the idea of having to spend more money on a monthly basic, but added he also knows the money to fix the aging infrastructure has to come from somewhere.
“It’s not as though we can continuously find pots of gold all over Sylvan Lake,” said Payne. “It needs to happen. Infrastructure needs to be replaced, water needs to flow into the taps and go away with a flush. It costs money.”
Mayor Sean McIntyre said he respected the fact Council had a reluctance to increase rates.
“Certainly I’m not looking forward to my bill increases at all, let alone $10 a month,” said Mayor McIntyre. “But the fact is we are burdened with the information that came to us from the 2014 Infrastructure Study that says we have infrastructure in our community beyond it’s life span that should have been replaced all in one big chunk back in 2014.”
Also proposed in the bylaw is an increase to the Sylvan Lake Regional Wastewater Commission (SLRWWC) collection charges from $0.40 to $0.80 per cubic meter. Also added to the bylaw is the definition of the Sylvan Lake Regional Wastewater Commission as a reference.
Bylaw 1721/2016 also adds Section 14.4, Emergency in the Wastewater Network, whereas the Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Sylvan Lake may limit wastewater use to any or all customers, including regional customers, or any other user of the utility. This will allow the Town to exercise control of utility usage during critical conditions, such as water supply or a lagoon capacity issues such as those that occurred in 2016.
Editor@sylvanlakenews.com