Irricana Town council has set a special meeting for March 29 to discuss – and perhaps alter – water rates after an approved utility increase at the Dec. 14, 2015 regular council meeting upset residents after they received higher than expected bills for the months of January and February.
The rate increase from $3.022 per cubic metre to $4.677 would make an example bill using the same 43.92 cubic metres of water increase by $72.74 on the rate change alone, according to Interim Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Dawn Mosondz.
“I didn’t think it would have that much impact,” Councillor Kim Schmaltz said. “I would really like to go back and take another look at this and rescind that motion.”
Mosondz said since the 2015 modules needed to be closed off before the Town could bill anything for 2016, a meter reading for the January and February bill was not conducted until somewhere between March 4 and 10.
With these delays, she said some residents could have been billed for upwards of 76 days during that period, leading to higher than normal consumption rates.
Also, with the months of November and December billed as an estimate based on an average of usage in the year, Mosondz said residents could have incurred higher consumption rates on January and February bills if the household used more than what was estimated during November and December.
“As we know with averages, if there is any time when there are a couple of low numbers it’s going to throw the average off because it hasn’t been consistent,” she said.
Deputy Mayor Dennis Tracz said the information presented to council at the Dec. 14, 2015 meeting stated that the water service lost more than $51,000 in 2014 and it was projected to lose more than $100,000 in 2015.
Changing the rate to $4.677 was also based on a 15 cubic metre usage average, which Mosondz said only represented the usage of about one person per household per billing cycle.
It was council’s intention that the rate increase was meant to find a “true cost,” which included operations, maintenance and repair that Tracz said was previously hidden somewhere in taxes.
Council directed administration to review the information provided at the Dec. 14, 2015 meeting, re-evaluate what a fair water rate might be for the Town and present that information to council during the special meeting on March 29.
“I think we have to look at all of the options,” Tracz said.
Schmaltz said he is not sure if going back to the $3.022 rate is the best course of action or not, but he believes council might be able to find some “happy medium” between a rate increase and taxes.
Councillor Lora Peterson admitted council may have jumped a little too soon when increasing the rates without really taking the time to do the math on the matter.
“For that I’m sorry,” she said. “It hit my pocketbook as well.”
In the meantime, council voted to waive the late payment penalty of the January and February bills. If a new rate is agreed upon at the special meeting on March 29, Mosondz said an updated bill could be reissued to residents by April 6.
