WESTLOCK – Town of Westlock residents will be paying more for their water in 2022, while the cost of single-use passes to the pool and Rotary Spirit Centre will jump minimally.
At their Dec. 13 meeting, town councillors unanimously approved Consolidated Fees and Rates Bylaw 2017-01, Amendment Bylaw 2021-23, a document that includes 41 pages of fees and rates covering everything from water and sewer service, to a lifetime dog licence, cemetery plots, riding the community assistance bus and rink-board advertising at the RSC.
CAO Simone Wiley said the bylaw and corresponding rates, which come into effect Jan. 1, 2022, were discussed during recent service-level review sessions between admin and council.
Water rates to rise
Following a proposed increase from the Westlock Regional Water Commission, the town will now charge residents and businesses $3.03 per cubic metre, up from $2.91 — bulk water rates are also rising by $.30 to $7.55 per cubic metre.
Water distribution rates will also rise, from $17.50 to $17.85 for all homes, trailers and multi-family residential structures. The commercial/industrial rate per meter for distribution will jump by $.50, to $16.50, while institutional properties will be charged $31.60 per water meter, up by $.60. Sewer rates are also rising by $.09 for residential and county residential and $.10 for commercial/industrial and institutional.
Minimal rec increase
Community services department director Gerry Murphy spoke to council about his department’s rates back at an August committee of the whole meeting — at the time he proposed a three per cent bump across the board, although many fees, including the yearly rates for RSC memberships, remain static. Murphy said then that rates have been frozen since 2015, noting a 2017 request for decision from admin to council to raise fees that did not pass.
“For the most part administration looked at current fees and rates and surrounding communities and where we were on par with the majority of communities, we left them alone. Where we were significantly less than the surrounding communities, we looked for an increase to bring us closer to the average,” Murphy told council Dec. 13.
“On the whole I could consider the increase right across the board to be nominal.”
Coun. Murtaza Jamaly gave props to Murphy and his department for finding “operational efficiencies” and innovating “to make the most of our facilities with the dollars we have.”
“I think administration has done its homework on checking where we need to be versus other communities in the region,” added Coun. Curtis Snell.
Under the new rates it will cost $.05 more for a youth ($4 for kids, $5.50 for teens ages 13-17) to access the pool for an afternoon, while an adult will pony up $.70 more, ($8 in total) and a senior will pay $.75 extra ($6.20). At the RSC, drop-in fees will rise by $.10 for children ($4.05), $.20 for youth and seniors ($6.30) and $.25 for adults ($8.10). Offsetting those rates, council noted, is the new recreation assistance program which offers discounts to low-income residents.
“As we return to normal … I know that’s going to be one of the hardest parts as we plan conservatively for less revenue in the facilities, even in 2022, and how we manage our role as a service provider, our role as an employer and keeping those facilities open and accessible and increasing our service levels,” said Jamaly.
“I’m excited about by not only offering discounted rates, but also offering increased amenity through 24-hour access (at the pool). I think that there are a lot of great things happening that outweigh a marginal increase.”
More rates
Noted in the request for decision to council, the planning and development department amended verbiage within the Safety Codes section, while also proposing to increase the land-use bylaw amendment application and municipal development plan amendment application from $300 to $500, while also adding a new fee of $200 for demolition within commercial/industrial and institutional.
Within the administration department, there is a slight increase in Family and Community Support Services home support services, from $23.15 per hour to $24.32 per hour, while administration has also added an ATM transaction fee of $3.50. A new fee of $25 for a replacement card for the residential landfill card program is also included for 2022.
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