(Posted 4:30 a.m., April 28)
Commentary: Water rate debate a symptom of a much bigger problem
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

There is no better example of the mess this city is in then the current debate over whether or not the city should introduce a base rate on the water and sewer bill to make up for declining revenues.

Apparently, the city is bringing in less money because people are using less water. Gee, I wonder why. The city’s spin is that the drop in demand is due to our desire to conserve water.

Personally, I believe it has a lot more to do with our desire to conserve our hard-earned dollars than it does our desire to conserve a little H2O. Since 2006, city council has hiked the water and sewer rate by a whopping 39 per cent.

The average homeowner in Ottawa will pay $606 for water and sewer services in 2010. In 2006, the average water and sewer bill was $430. That’s an increase of $176.

The earth shattering reality is that the more expensive it is to use, the less likely we’re going to use it, and the less we use it the less money the city will bring in.

The city’s answer is to introduce a base charge on the water and sewer bill that will not be subject to fluctuations in use. Unfortunatelty, they will still be subject to council’s unsatiable desire to increase user fees.

The problem goes back to council’s efforts to limit tax increases by shifting costs from the tax bill to the water and sewer bill including $735,000 in administration costs which they transferred during the recent budget deliberations.

(Just a note here, but the City of Gatineau doesn’t even have water and sewer bills. The full cost of water and sewer services is recovered through property taxes.)

The truth is that fixed costs such as administration and capital investments shouldn’t be on the water bill. They should be included in a separate levy on the tax bill. That said, the changes which are currently being proposed by city staff will have a disproportionate impact on homeowners who use 10 cubic metres of water a month or less, a large number of whom are seniors who traditionally use the least amount of water on a per household basis.

Under the rate structure proposed by staff, homeowners who use 10 cubic metres or less would see an increase in their water and sewer bills of between $4 and $6 a month, or about $60 a year. For someone who has already seen their bills rise by $40 a year for the past four years, getting dinged another $60 is beyond ridiculous.

To add further insult to injury the city also wants to spend $1 million of our hard-earned tax dollars to try and convince us to drink more tap water. Talk about sending out a mixed message.

Here’s a thought. How about they save the million dollars for something a little more worthwhile and come up with a cost recovery plan that won’t hurt those who are least able to pay for it?

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)

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