ST. PAUL – On June 27, Town of St. Paul council deliberated the new water and sewer service draft bylaw, which would see numerous changes in the bylaw and see the average homeowner paying more if approved.
A notable change in the draft includes switching to monthly billing rather than bi-monthly.
“The change in some of the bills will be significant enough that we believe it’ll be easier for people to budget if they’re paying monthly,” said Chief Financial Officer Mitchel Bachelet.
Water rates are proposed to be decreased from $1.60 per cubic metre to $1.31 per cubic metre, while sewer rates are proposed to decrease from $1.20 per cubic metre to $1 per cubic metre.
The $28.78 water flat rate will also be removed. Instead, there will be a monthly water service charge.
The cost will depend on the size of the meter servicing a property. A 5/8-inch meter will cost $17; a one-inch meter will cost $27.15; a one-and-a-half-inch meter will cost $40.72; a two-inch meter will cost $54.30; and a 4-inch meter will cost $108.60.
The sewer flat rate is proposed to also be increased from $26.76 to $36.10.
Capital replacement contribution
A new $17 water and $9 wastewater capital replacement contribution will also be added. The cost will be the same across the board.
Mayor Maureen Miller said this inclusion is to be able to pay for the replacement of the Town’s water and sewer infrastructure, as the provincial and federal government do not cover the whole infrastructure replacement. In the past, there were government programs that helped fund distribution line projects that no longer exist.
“It’s us being proactive in preparation because we know [facilities] are going to have to be replaced at some point,” said the mayor.
Bachelet clarified that capital replacement contributions will be dedicated to a reserve fund for water and wastewater facility replacement in the future.
Impact
Jeffery provided an example of how the changes would look like for some accounts going forward.
Residential users with a standard 5/8-inch meter, which covers the majority of account holders in the town, will see a 15 per cent increase in their fixed water service charge (or the ‘water flat rate’). The water flat rate will change from $28.76 every two months currently to $17 per month, which translates to an increase from $14.38 per month to $17 per month.
Charges for larger meters will also increase, with a 2-inch meter, for example, going from $28.76 every two months to $54.30 per month.
The fixed sewer service charge will increase from $26.76 every two months to $36.10 per month, or an increase from $13.38 per month to $36.10 per month.
“With the recalculations that we've done, the higher the meter size, meaning the more consumption,” which generally applies to businesses, according to Jeffery, “they're actually going to see less of an impact.”
“They're going to likely see some more stability, if not a slight decrease in some of their water bills, due to the flat rates not necessarily being their highest part of their bill because they're using so much water that their biggest part of their bill is consumption,” said Jeffery.
Background
The proposed changes are based on the Utility Rate Study that the Town recently completed, said Jeffery.
“What are water and sewer costing the community and are we reflective in our rates? Or are we too low [or] too high? Are we setting money aside for capital replacement?”
Jeffery explained that water rates and fixed fees are based on the Town’s actual expenses to provide water and sewer services.
This includes the Utilities department, which handles water and wastewater treatment; Public Works, which manages distribution and collection services; and the finance department, which oversees accounting and billing for utilities.
Jeffery said that according to the study, current charges do not reflect the expenses the Town is incurring every year, and it is not setting aside money to replace infrastructure in the future, thus the proposed draft revisions.
Following the presentation, some amendments were made to the draft, and Coun. Ron Boisvert motioned to pass the first reading. The motion was approved.
Administration will come back with the revised bylaw in the next council meeting.
With a suggestion from Coun. Brad Eamon, council also requested administration to come back with a comparison of how much other municipalities are charging for water and sewer.
A statutory public hearing is not required for this type of bylaw.
If the bylaw passes, the changes will be made effective next year.
