Typically in a municipal election campaign, the issues that get talked about most are those with the biggest price tags attached. Taxes are fees are always hot topics with voters, and it’s a relatively easy plank from which even a novice candidate can build an election platform.
Without much doubt, the single most expensive issue facing our region’s municipalities is water.
But have you noticed there any many candidates bemoaning the fact that what some taxpayers shell out for water is about to double?
Water is an odd commodity in the Athabasca-Boyle region. Those who already on a public water system may very well take it for granted, any they may be in for a nasty surprise once the new rates roll out.
Meanwhile, there are many others in the region who aren’t on a public water system, desperately want to be, and aren’t too concerned right now how much it costs.
Complicating things further is that the new regional water system is administered regionally, and managed by a quasi-municipal board, the Aspen Regional Water Services Commission, that has partial representation for each of the participating municipalities. What this means is that much of the conversation and debate about water isn’t even happening around council tables.
But water is too important and too costly an issue for candidates to get a free pass, either before or after the Oct. 18 elections. Each of them, whether they represent town, county or village residents, need to be prepared to question, challenge and eventually justify the delivery of water in our region, as well as the associated costs.
