Sewer refund possible

Jennifer Smith - Vernon Morning Star Published: October 26, 2010 7:00 PM 
A possible refund could be on tap for Coldstream residents.  The district recently had to raise sewer rates from $1.26 per cubic metre to $1.54 due to significant and unexpected costs being sought by Vernon (which owns and operates the sewer treatment plant).  “We paid way over double what we normally do,” said Trevor Seibel, director of financial administration.  “We had to make some adjustments quickly.” The rise in costs was due to a major increase in volume believed to be coming from Coldstream, which has now been determined to be an error.  As a result, Vernon is refunding Coldstream $118,000.  Coun. Maria Besso says the right thing to do is give that money back to the users.  “At least $100,000 of that should be applied back to the sewer users. It is our duty to then return that money to the sewer users.” Council did not agree to provide a refund to sewer users but may look at the issue in the future.  “Once we see the whole financial picture of the utility then we could look at options for a refund,” said Michael Stamhuis, chief administrative officer.  To prevent future sewer miscalculations, Coldstream is also installing a second meter system. This $10,000 to $20,000 meter will serve as a backup for the current unreliable system.