Duane Hicks
Focuses first
on user fees,
water meters
Keen to get started on the 2011 budget process, town council has begun talking about user fees for 2011, agreeing that each executive committee examine their respective fee schedules line by line.
As part of the process, a 1.7 percent cost of living increase to the various user fees will be used as a starting point to contemplate any potential fee hikes.
However, this does not necessarily mean the fees actually will be hiked by that amount by the time the fee schedule is passed.
During a special committee of the meeting last Thursday, Mayor Roy Avis said he doesn’t feel council should raise user fees by much in 2011.
“I think that with the HST coming in this year, which has been a shell shock to a lot of people and the fees that they pay, the overall cost of living in this community, and the uncertainty of what’s happening, I think we should probably look [only] at a cost-of-living adjustment,” he remarked, adding the user fee schedule should be scrutinized to see which rates should and should not be increased.
“It would nice, in view of the economic circumstances, if we could give people a bit of a break on user fees,” agreed Coun. Andrew Hallikas.
“But the other side of coin is if we give people a break on user fees, that’s something that’s going to have to be made up with taxable income,” he noted.
“It’s a bit of a balancing act.
“But I really would like to see if we could hold the line on user fees as much as possible,” Coun. Hallikas added.
Several members of council also said they’d like to see more emphasis put on non-resident user fees.
“I think we should raise user fees inconsistently across the board between resident and non-resident,” said Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft.
“Because if we raise resident user fees and then hit them with the taxation, as well, we’re hitting them twice,” he argued.
“I would like to see more of an emphasis put on maybe raising the non-resident higher than the resident simply because the residents are already paying taxes and should not be hit twice,” he added.
Coun. John Albanese agreed council should conscious of “double-taxing” residents, adding they also have to “try to be more a little more friendly” to single-parent families and those with lower incomes.
Coun. Paul Ryan said user fees should be for people who use the facilities, and residents shouldn’t be taxed twice, adding there’s people who have never set foot in the arena but the town won’t have it paid off until 2017.
The town also subsidizes it through taxation to the tune of about $500,000 a year.
“I also think that we should really look at non-resident rates,” echoed Coun. Ryan.
“When look at our report at the end of the year and it shows per capita what costs each person living in the municipality [pay] to support the library, the Sportsplex, and then you look at the fee we charge the non-resident, there’s a great disparity.
“We’re already looking at our airport, something we have been running for years for the whole district. . . .
“Anybody that wants to use our facilities, they should be paying the correct rate to do so,” Coun. Ryan stressed.
Coun. Hallikas said non-residents do need to pay more, but he doesn’t want to see rates climb inordinately and discourage non-residents from coming into town and using services.
Treasurer Laurie Witherspoon noted the town’s total revenue for 2009 was $21,468,600, and of that $2,138,132 came from user fees.
This represents just under 10 percent of the town’s overall revenues.
Sewer/water
Council also agreed at last Thursday’s special meeting that increases to sewer and water rates, particularly to the industrial/commercial/institutional (ICI) sector, will have to be discussed at length in future, as will the topic of whether council wants to implement water meters.
Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown noted there still are rate inequities that have to be addressed.
The average cost of sewer and water per cubic metre is $3.15. The ICI sector pays $2 while residents pay $3.52. Couchiching and non-residential pay $4.40.
“Classes are subsidizing other classes. What are we doing?” Brown asked.
“I’d like to have a clear understanding where we’re going,” he added.
Mayor Avis said he felt any sewer and water rates increases also should be kept to a minimum in 2011, noting the commercial sector is suffering from the HST and outshopping while AbitibiBowater, which is scheduled to emerge from bankruptcy protection later this month, is concerned about its current water rates.
“If we start to hit them with higher water rates, will they start to look at pumping water themselves? I don’t know,” the mayor said.
“Maybe [we] need to slow down a little bit the equalization of water rates to try and keep our businesses viable, and to try and give them a bit of a break,” Coun. Hallikas agreed.
“Another thing I really think that we need to think about is the water rates for Couchiching,” he added. “They’re getting non-residential rates, but you can’t get a closer neighbour.
“Maybe it’s time to think about reaching to Couchiching FN and see if we can get an actual signed agreement with them and talk about their rate, as well,” Coun. Hallikas said.
Brown said council has to decide what it wants to do about water meters.
“I thought one of the things that council was considering was going to a metered system,” he remarked.
“We have in our five-year capital [plan] that 2011 was the year that we were going to do that, and deferred the recommendation until the new council was in.
“We’re sitting here.”
Brown said to keep in mind that the sewer and water system is a stand-alone utility, has to be self-sustaining, and water meters are a key part of that.
The town has seven miles of water lines that are more than 90 years and have to be replaced, and it also has to fix its sanitary sewer system.
He noted 68-70 percent of the province has switched to water meters, they’re part of the “green” trend, and he believes they soon will become a requirement in getting government grants.
But Coun. Ken Perry said he’s dead set against a meter system.
“I don’t want to see sewer and water rates go to a meter system. I think it’s a waste of money,” he argued.
“I think all we’ll do is go and buy meters, install meters, pay the plumber,” Coun. Perry said. “Where do we go? Up from there.
“Because everybody’s going to cut back on their water usage, the price of water has to go up.
“We’re not going to reduce our cost in any way, shape, or form, except for a little bit of chemicals, which isn’t a big part of our expense at the water treatment plant—it’s wages,” Coun. Perry continued.
“We’re not going to lay anybody off, we’re not going to have one less person working down there.
“It’s not going to happen,” he stressed.
Coun. Perry noted the meters will cost everybody between $500-800 and have to be replaced in 15 years—all the while customers will have to pay for their water.
“All of the people that we think are going to save water are going to pay more, not less,” he charged, adding perhaps the little old lady who lives on the corner, who washes dishes once a day and showers once a day, might save a little bit of money at first, but not when the town ups the cost per cubic metre.
Coun. Perry also stressed the town has to address its water rate inequities between classes before meters are put in, otherwise it will wreck havoc with the ICI class.
Coun. Wiedenhoeft said the decision regarding water meters can’t be an emotional one—he needs data to make decisions and would like to see information on communities that have made the transition to water meters.
Coun. Ryan reminded council there currently is an infiltration study going on in the town. Once that is complete, they will know exactly what sewer pipes have to be fixed and where.
If the town is going to fix those, they also have to replace aging water lines.
He added it costs about $600 to replace those pipes and the town has seven miles to do, and asked how is it going to pay for that?
Coun. Ryan also said new water legislation is in the works. While it doesn’t mention water meters as being mandatory yet, the trend towards conservation makes them likely.
“I think it’s going it come,” he reasoned. “I think this council should really be looking at water meters as a way to control . . . people only being charged what they use.”
Coun. Sharon Tibbs said some people have it in their heads that if they are charged on a metered system, their bill will “go down to nickels and dimes.”
She stressed council has to make it clear to them they still have to pay for the distribution system.
