BARRHEAD – County of Barrhead residents may have to pay more for their septic hauling in the new year.
Councillors gave the third and final reading to Bylaw 12-2021 (Rates and Fees Bylaw) during their Dec. 21 meeting. Coun. Bill Lane was opposed.
For the most part, the rates and fees in the bylaw, which comes into effect on Jan. 1, remain unchanged from 2021, except for a fee for assessment complaints and dumping fees at the county's lagoon fees.
Councillors gave the bylaw first and second reading on Dec. 7 and would have gone on to the final reading if it had not been for Lane's opposition, as he cast an opposing vote on each reading.
BARRHEAD – County of Barrhead residents may have to pay more for their septic hauling in the new year.
Councillors gave the third and final reading to Bylaw 12-2021 (Rates and Fees Bylaw) during their Dec. 21 meeting. Coun. Bill Lane was opposed.
For the most part, the rates and fees in the bylaw, which comes into effect on Jan. 1, remain unchanged from 2021, except for a fee for assessment complaints and dumping fees at the county's lagoon fees.
Councillors gave the bylaw first and second reading on Dec. 7 and would have gone on to the final reading if it had not been for Lane's opposition, as he cast an opposing vote on each reading.
Finance director Tamara Molzahn noted the county currently does not have a complaint fee but said most municipalities do have one, including the majority of neighbouring communities.
She noted that essentially it is a kind of a deposit, adding that if a resident is successful in their appeal, the fee is refunded.
Under the bylaw, the fee for three or fewer residential dwellings and farmland will be $50. For four or more residential holdings and non-residential, the charge is $200.
However, the sticking point for Lane was that the bylaw proposed to more than double the rate it charged haulers from $14 and $28 for single and double-axle trucks to $50 and $65.
He said it was too much of a jump at one time then and did not change his view between meetings.
"Of all the years I have been on council, this is the largest (percentage) increase I have seen. It is ridiculous," he said. "You've doubled everyone's bill when it is already high enough."
Lane referenced a letter council received from Thunder Lake resident Ivan Kusal.
"I was dumbfounded by the fact that six out of seven councillors thought a 132 per cent increase in lagoon fees, or any fee for that matter, is acceptable and reasonable by any means," he stated. "One councillor thought they should even be higher."
Kusal was referring to Coun. Paul Properzi's comments, who said at the Dec. 7 meeting that given the amount of inflation and the projected replacement cost, the fee should be higher.
Kusal, in his letter, said he thought it was unfair that people using the lagoons should have to cover the entire replacement costs through dumping fees, suggesting that all ratepayers share the burden. And while he believed an increase in dumping fees is "most likely warranted,” it needed to be done gradually.
Earlier in the meeting, Molzahn said administration had conducted a review of the fees and found they were not adequate to cover the projected replacement cost of the lagoons. She also noted the county's fees are considerably lower than those in neighbouring communities.
In Lac St. Anne County, the fee is currently $55 per legal load and will be increasing to $65 in the new year. Westlock County requires a $100 annual disposal licence and then charges $5 per cubic metre, which averages about $75 per load. Sturgeon County charges (using their 2019 rates) $40.10, $80.20 and $110.30 for single, double and triple-axle vehicles, respectively. Woodlands County doesn't offer the service.
Molzahn added that revenue from the fee would go directly into a lagoons replacement/upgrade reserve.
"We are not making any money off of this. Any money we earn will go to future repairs and upgrades we need," she said.
Coun. Walter Preugschas asked how the increase impact users?
Molzahn said it wasn’t a question she could answer, as it would be up to individual commercial waste haulers how much they charge.
"If they live in the Lac La Nonne area and use the Lac Ste. Anne dumping facilities, perhaps they've already incorporated it into their fees," she said.
Due to capacity issues, the county has often had to close the Dunstable lagoon.
Preugschas then asked how many residences a waste hauler would dump at one time.
County manager Debbie Oyarzun said again that was not something they could answer.
"It depends on a company's truck volume and the size of an individual's septic tank," she said.
Lane interjected that companies would have no choice but to pass on large increases to their customers.
He noted that he currently spends $125 to empty his septic tank and expects a big jump due to the county's rate increase.
Deputy reeve Schatz said that the dumping fee is only one factor in what a septic company charges, adding the increase to residents may not be as much as Lane expects.
"I can see an increase, but 138 per cent, that is too much," Lane replied. "It needs to be done in stages."
Later in the meeting, Lane moved the bylaw be amended to read single-axle trucks would be charged $35 and $50, but the motion was defeated.
Reeve Doug Drozd said what he has heard from residents regarding the lagoon issue is the criticism that "the county wasn't proactive enough and that they were short of (lagoon) capacity, and as a result, companies were forced to go outside the municipality to dump sewage".
"If it was about increasing the fee to reduce overall taxation, that isn't justifiable," he said. "But since we are being proactive and putting the money towards something to look at programs, to handle future growth, I think people will support it, and I have no problem with the increase."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
