City council has approved an amendment to the sewer and water utility bylaw to officially increase those utilities by four per cent each, which means homeowners will pay over $60 more this year.
Council gave three unanimous readings to the bylaw during the Jan. 15 regular meeting, with the increases to go into effect on Thursday, Feb. 1.
For most utility customers, this amounts to an extra $5.35 per month or $64.20 per year for both utilities.
Coun. Heather Eby voted in favour of the bylaw amendment but expressed concern about it because “it’s never a fun thing to vote in favour of any sort of increase,” especially four per cent for each utility.
Yet, she reminded residents that these increases are not just to address water from the tap or that goes into the drain. This extra money will help the city improve all water-related infrastructure above and below ground, such as pipes, valves, lift stations and treatment plants.
“As everyone is well aware, those costs coming at us — and that have been coming at us for quite a while — are humungous. And we have very few options to fund it,” Eby said. “As unpopular as this is, I really feel it would be more unpopular to leave those repairs and upgrades for future generations.
“I’m not happy to support this, but I’m happy that we’re working to get a lot of this work underway. Even cast iron, we’re heading into year eight … so we are (making) some progress.
“I’m not happy to support this, but I will support this,” she added.
Water fees and charges
As of Feb. 1, the cost per cubic metre of water consumed will be:
- $1.5856 for in-town consumers
- $3.5676 for out-of-town consumers
- $2.3786 for 15 Wing Airbase
- $4.6091 for consumers receiving water from the city’s water dispensing devices
- $2.9730 for the Caron/Mortlach Regional Public Utility Board
Executive committee appointment
According to minutes from the Dec. 18, 2023 executive committee, council appointed Robert Nesbitt to the Moose Jaw Municipal Airport Authority for a term starting Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2025 or until a successor is appointed.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Jan. 29.
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