Innisfail residents will see their utility bills go up an average of $25 per month, as the town tries to get ahead of the curve, building up a reserve to help ease the transition to an expensive regional wastewater system.
On top of new rates on some services meant to help cover their own cost, council approved the ì2020î stabilization plan which adds $10 a month on top of the existing wastewater rate, socking this away for 2015 when the town will hook up to the South Red Deer Regional Wastewater Commission system.
ìTo me this is a very difficult decision,î said Mayor Jim Romane, during a public open house Feb. 11. ìAlberta Environment gave us no option, and that's what we're faced with now.î
Later in the meeting council approved a waste and yard waste collection ìbase rateî jump of a loonie to $17/month. Recycling collection also increased a loonie. The water usage rate was hiked a quarter to $2 per cubic metre as was the sewer service rate. Usage for both is calculated based on a resident's water meter. The wastewater usage rate will continue to rise 20 cents annually until 2020, though the water usage rate is set to remain static.
The ì2020î plan is an effort to address the effect of switching away from the current municipal sewage treatment plant, by easing taxpayers into the reality of shipping waste up to a central facility in Red Deer, according to council.
ìOur wastewater treatment plant is substandard,î Romane said, noting the processing facility was built in the mid-1970s and was only meant to last about 25 years. ìWe understand there's people on fixed incomes that are going to have a tough time with this. We'd be doing less of a favour not doing this now.î
Romane says he had originally been part of a group exploring a new sewage treatment facility for Innisfail which would have cost less than $20 million based on quotes given at the time. The provincial ministry of the environment has been getting towns out of the business of handling their own sewage, and pushed Innisfail towards the current plan. The regional wastewater system will end up costing about $140 million, 90 per cent of which will be paid for by the provincial government and 10 per cent by member municipalities.
The current facility costs about $500,000 a year to operate, though costs can spring up out of nowhere, such as a $20,000 pump that failed in the past month. Based on current usage rates Innisfail will be paying $3.2 million a year into the regional wastewater system by 2015.
Since Innisfail will continue to have to make its current sewage plant limp along until 2015 while flows to Red Deer are ramped up, council had originally held out for a better interim rate, but was unsuccessful in its effort.
No residents spoke in direct opposition to the rate increases at the open house.
Penhold already ships sewage to Red Deer through the Waskasoo Regional Sewer System but is also planning to change its rate structure. Council debated a plan that would cause an increase of about $20 for the average user, but sent it back to administration to workshop it a bit more.
ìWe're losing money on utilities. We're not making money,î said Rick Binnendyk, Penhold's chief operating officer (CAO), during a council meeting Feb. 11. ìWe don't even cover our operational costs.î
Binnendyk said last year the Town of Penhold lost about $25,000 on utilities because of water seeping into the lines through infiltration.
Mayor Dennis Cooper said something must be done to address the utility deficit.
ìI think what we're saying is we need to make sure we break even,î he said.
