By Jessie Weisner (Twitter: @Jessie__Weisner)

Rocky Town Council takes steps towards fee increases

Aug 9, 2018 | 1:32 PM

The Town of Rocky Mountain House is close to finalizing the consolidation of its solid waste, water and sewer bylaws.

Council directed administration to finalize a draft of the new bylaw at their meeting on Tuesday.

Under the current bylaws, utility fees collected from residential and commercial properties are subsidized by general tax revenue.

Utility rates in Rocky Mountain House have always been subsidized to pay the operating costs of those services.

However, the Town is now aiming to attain full cost recovery of the utilities, leading to large fee increases in 10 out of 14 areas.

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The two largest fee increases are the sewer consumption charge, and the water consumption charge, both of which more than double.

According to the town, the average residential utility levy will increase from $76.86 to $100.94. However, most communities have separate rates based on metre size.

Council plans to stop subsidizing bills for two main reasons: to invest taxes elsewhere, and increase its chances of receiving provincial and federal grant funding.

Municipalities largely rely on provincial and federal grants to fund water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades. The transition to full cost-recovery improves the Town’s chances at receiving multiple grants, including the ‘Water for Life’ program.

Due to the significant fee increases, the new structure will be introduced in two phases in January and July 2019.

The Bylaw will also introduce a monthly billing cycle, as opposed to the bi-monthly system that’s in place now.

The Town will begin notifying residents and businesses about the changes soon.