By CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — It’s expected those paying for the sewer service in Cobden will see a 12.8 percent increase once council passes the bylaw.
Two months ago, treasurer Marsha Hawthorne was predicting about a five percent increase. However, when the final expenses were tallied, it showed an unexpected repair bill from BEI in excess of $14,000; additional Ontario Clean Water Agency bills were sent in and additional costs and decreased revenue for 2015 showed a budget deficit of $26,476 for 2015 and $9,873 for 2014.
Reviewing the final figures, she said the current residential rate is $169.83. With the 12.8 percent increase, the rate proposed is $191.57, which is a quarterly difference of $21.74 or $86.96 for the year.
Ms. Hawthorne explained that BEI expenditure was for the lift station near the LCBO on Truelove street. A leak was discovered and it was sending groundwater to the treatment plant, she explained.
“It had been leaking for a long time,” noted Steve Hodson, Environmental Services manager.
While no figure was available, once the leak was found and repaired, there was a significant decrease in the amount of water being treated, he added.
The OCWA billable figures ended up totalling $18,000 not $10,000, Ms. Hawthorne said.
When questioned about the decreased revenue, Ms. Hawthorne said there are some people, when they go away, who have their water shut off, which means they aren’t using the sewer system either. She noted this is happening more and more.
Councillor Daryl McLaughlin, who is chair of the Environmental Services Committee, said the infrastructure has to be maintained and there are fixed costs whether people use the system or not.
“There should be a flat fee even if people are not using it,” he said.
Councillor Charlene Jackson suggested there be a percentage of the cost figured in so the figure would not be constantly changing.
Coun. McLaughlin suggested it should only be turned off only if it’s going to be that way for a minimum of three months.
Councillor Chris Olmstead understands why more and more people are doing this, because in two years, there will be a 47 percent increase.
“That’s a bitter pill to swallow,” he said.
Other reasons for the large increase in two years was due to the fact there was no increase at all for many years, Ms. Hawthorne said. There was also a cast-in-place project and now a new generator has to be purchased.
Coun. Jackson noted that with more development there will be more people using the system, which means the expenses will be spread out some more.
Coun. Olmstead said that’s why growth and development is so important. There are currently 421 hook-ups, and if that were increased by even 100, the bills will be shared more.
Mayor Hal Johnson noted Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced more match funding in 2016.
“Hopefully we can get that generator paid for by Kathleen,” he said. “It’s time to start applying for grants again. She has opened the purse strings.”
Coun. Jackson suggested Mr. Hodson apply for Trans Canada grants.
“We’ve tried to get that funding,” Mr. Hodson said. “We tried twice for the generator and were denied.”
Mayor Johnson said while at a provincial municipal convention, “The ministers encouraged us to apply, apply, apply and you will get a lot more. But, these are for shovel ready projects.
