Metro service fees to climb 44 per cent by 2016

ctvbc.ca Date: Friday Jul. 15, 2011 5:32 PM PT

City services in Metro Vancouver are forecast to rise 44 per cent over the next five years as regional governments struggle to fund necessary infrastructure projects.  A Metro Vancouver finance report suggests the cost of water and sewage will increase from $556 to $740 for the average household by 2016.  The region needs $4.5-billion to upgrade water and sewer infrastructure in the next 10 years, a burden finance committee chairman and Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie wants to see shared with senior governments. "We need the federal and provincial governments to step up to the plate and give full contributions to these important projects," Brodie said. The projects include replacements for the Iona and Lions Gate sewage treatment plants and new water supply and treatment facilities in the Seymour and Capilano watersheds. But Premier Christy Clark says provincial support may not be in the cards. "We are in the midst of an international economic downturn which has hit our budget pretty hard," Clark said. "We don't have lots of money to spend." The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses says municipalities have other options, and should be rethinking their own budgets before raising taxes and fees to families. Brodie says the projects are "not frills," but important infrastructure that must be paid for. "The payment is not magically going to come from the sky," he said.