(file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Residents ask to bring back discount

City responds to questions about summer sewer rates

Jun 30, 2023 | 5:45 PM

North Battleford city council looked at an inquiry from two residents concerned about the city’s summer sewer rates.

Residents Jane Nielsen and Darryl Williams , who previously presented as a delegation at a prior council meeting, also wanted to know why a summer rate discount was discontinued a number of years ago.

City Director of Operations Stewart Schafer said he looked into their issue.

Up until 2009 the City reduced the summer sewer rates, based on the assumption the water being used by the residents would be used on gardens and lawns, and not go into the sanitary sewer line system. But after 2009, administration removed the 10 per cent discount on sewer rates for residential properties.

“The City utilities are self funded, meaning that the City collects the funds for the water and wastewater services, based on each utility’s respective needs,” Schafer said. “So, the funds collected for water are not utilized in the wastewater or other City services.”

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He added in the City’s budget for utilities, it also factors in funding needs for future capital upgrades.

“The rates must raise enough revenue for the operations of the municipal utilities,” Schafer said. “If the City were to reintroduce the discounted summer sewer rates, the rates required for the rest of the year would need to increase to ensure that the required amounts of funding are received to [fulfill] the operations of the utilities.”

He noted even when people water their lawns in the summer, there is an impact to the sewage system that goes unmeasured.

As a result, Schafer said administration recommended to council that at this time no changes be made to the current sewer rates.

Mayor David Gillan also noted the City requires certain revenue to meet its needs.

“This is the bottom line,” he said. “A discount of any type in any department means that it has to be paid somehow. So, we reduce service or we raise rates some place else.”

Gillan added unless the service level in the utility department changes today, the City has a set cost structure to follow.

“For people that turn on water, there is a higher variable charge,” he said. “Even if there is a discount to water more, there is just going to be a bigger bill. It’s just volume that’s going to make a bigger bill.”

He added while there are benefits to watering the lawn, there is also a cost to production.

“It’s hard to go discounting rates. It’s purely dollars and cents,” Gillan said.

Councillor Kelli Hawtin proposed looking at possibly re-assessing the consumption charge on sewer during summer lawn watering, when it’s likely not impacting the sewer very much.

“I know it’s economics and I know there is a bottom-dollar value we need to collect on the sanitary sewer line of our utilities,” she said. “I’m just suggesting there could possibly be a more fair way to distribute that through the community that doesn’t have people impacted with their summer watering on their sewer rate, not water.

“Perhaps we can see when budget time comes if there is some option to level out the sewer rate for summer,” Hawtin added.

City Finance Director Margarita Pena said she will look into the issue more at budget time.

“If there is a way we can do a different rate for the sewer, we’ll bring it over to council if that works,” she said.

In the meantime, the City will stay with the current rates.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW