All hope of seeing a significantly different water rate has gone down the drain.
In a close vote on Dec. 7, the member municipalities of the Highway 12/21 Regional Water Commission approved the 2019 budget that will see the commission set aside a $60,000 capital reserve fund and have set the new water rate at $2.96 per cubic metre — a jump of eight cents.
READ MORE: Bashaw council not pleased with water rate jump
CAO Theresa Fuller stated that, even though several member municipalities pushed to lower the reserve — Bashaw had hoped to see it drop to $40,000 — the new budget passed with only minor adjustments from the draft sent out two weeks earlier. That draft had set the price at $3.
“In the end, the budget was passed even though members asked once again to adjust the reserve figure,” Fuller said.
“In voting to approve, one municipality noted the couple of pennies saved from dropping the reserve by $20,000 wasn’t going to make a significant difference in the end.”
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Rate Debate
The issue of the reserve as well as what the new rate will be for residents has been contentious and garnered much attention in the past month at Bashaw’s council meetings, including at the Dec. 6 meeting.
It’s a debate that council determined residents should be allowed to participate in, so the issue will be on council’s agenda at its meeting on Jan. 17 — which will be held at the Bashaw Community Centre.
Fuller explained that, considering there will be a few options put forward at that time, it might be an idea to have a venue that could better accommodate any public that are interested in the issue. As of now, administration has drafted a proposal to be presented to council at that meeting.
Coun. Lynn Schultz noted there might be some public interest. He believes the big crunch on water pricing has drifted past and that residents know there will be some increase flowing down the pipe.
Meanwhile, Coun. Darren Pearson feels the commission should look at paying off some of its debt, and use borrowing to pay for any breakdowns instead of grabbing such a large reserve fund.
Yet another suggestion came from Coun. Rob McDonald where Bashaw would hold onto its share of the reserve fund and hand it over when it was needed.
However, Fuller tossed water on the suggestions from McDonald and Pearson — stating holding back commission funds wouldn’t be feasible due to its agreement. She added that the commission has four debentures it is paying back with the first of those maturing in 2032.
jordie.dwyer@ponokanews.com
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