Rural properties on Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) wastewater services will see annual costs rise if the board endorses user fee and parcel tax changes for its systems at its Dec. 15 meeting. Proposed new rates for the 15 systems were reviewed at a Dec. 9 SCRD committee meeting. The elected representatives supported most of the proposals in the staff reports related to 2023 rates as presented at the meeting.
Making more charges deferrable
Noting the cumulative effect of higher wastewater costs and adjustments to water service costs for property owners that receive both services and anticipating a general property tax increase in the coming year, Area D director Kelly Backs asked his counterparts to consider making adjustments for those experiencing financial hardships.
“Are there ways to make this easier to swallow? I want to see us work hard for people who are having difficulties,” he stated as he asked about options for owners to defer wastewater charges or make monthly installment payments on annual costs. Chief financial officer Tina Perreault explained that wastewater fees and charges are currently not deferrable. She noted that while customers will receive annual utility bills, they are able to make payments throughout the year if they prefer, but that outstanding balances remaining after June 15 are subject to late payment penalties.
While it won’t have an impact for 2023, a recommendation put forward by Area E director Donna McMahon was supported to have staff explore options for applying wastewater frontage fees to parcel taxes rather than as utility billings. Such a change would allow taxpayers to defer those fees. That motion will also be considered by the board on Dec. 15.
Sechelt area director John Henderson called on staff and the committee to be ‘bold” in proposing rate changes that will provide the funding needed to maintain the services. In response, chief administrative officer, Dean McKinley stated that staff had used a “balanced” approach to recommending rate adjustments, taking into consideration the needs to have sustainable funding for the services, as well as rate adjustments that take into account the challenges facing ratepayers.
Rate changes
The committee’s recommendation will see the majority of SCRD wastewater systems paying more in 2023. In the new year, annual frontage fees are recommended to range from $202 to $474 depending on the system involved. User fees for residential properties as of next year are proposed to range from $487 to $1,948 with users in Lee Bay paying the lowest amount and those on Merrill Crescent paying the highest.
Systems that have user fees holding steady at 2022 levels are all in Area A. They include the Lee Bay, Canoe Road, Merrill Crescent, Painted Boat and Sakinaw Ridge areas. For those systems, frontage charges will be increasing by $50 per year for each of the coming five years except for Sakinaw Ridge, which is seeing an increase of two per cent to $862.
The $50 per year increase to frontage fees in 2023 is also recommended for Graeves, Langdale, Woodcreek Park, Curran Road, Jolly Roger, Square Bay, Roberts Creek Co-Housing and Lilly Lake Village systems. In the Sunnyside and Secret Cove area, frontage charge increases of $100 are being proposed.
Those facing major use fee increases include the 85 users of Halfmoon Bay’s Square Bay system where an annual user fee increase from $786 to $1,281 is proposed. \Property owners connected to the SCRD Langdale wastewater service are slated to see annual rates go to $1,427 next year from $1,126 in 2022. User rates for the Roberts Creek Co-housing development are looking at an increase to $1,247 from the 2022 level of $865.
As the meeting carried on to near the three-hour point, Backs stated that remaining with staff recommendations had him feeling like a “rubber stamp." He suggested rates for the Roberts Creek Co-Housing system be adjusted using a numerology approach. While other directors were reticent to vote against his proposal for a service located within his area, they did not support that change.
