Posted on 5/14/2015 by Pete McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM
Local politicians are in the process of reviewing how water rates are set in Greater Vernon. Regional District of North Okanagan staff outlined how the current system works and some future options, at a special two hour Greater Vernon Advisory Committee meeting Thursday. The average water bill is currently 54 percent base fees and 46 percent consumption, which BX-Swan Lake director Bob Fleming feels is a pretty good balance. "When I first started was when the move towards a better balance between fixed and variable started. I supported it at that time and I haven't changed my mind based on what I've seen so far," Fleming tells Kiss FM. However, Coldstream director Gyula Kiss feels it's wrong that someone who doesn't use any water, has to pay a minimum 400 dollars a year in base fees. RDNO staff say that's needed to cover costs to run the system. CFO Stephen Banmen presented several options such as having fewer tiers, and setting multiple year rates. Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund says some of the ideas could help, and deserve further debate. "There's a lot of cost savings in doing that. We sometimes have to look outside the box from other people who have already operated on different systems," says Mund. RDNO staff say it costs 60 cents for the system to produce a cubic metre of water (1,000 litres), but when you add the capital and debt, that goes up to $1 a cubic metre. BX-Silver Star director Mike Macnabb says the workshop shed some light on the cost to treat water at the Duteau and Mission Hill plants. "We found out what is the cost per cubic metre coming out of the two facilities. Some of the public is saying there's huge discrepancies but there isn't. There's one cent difference between the two, (13 cents per CM for Duteau, 12 cents for Mission Hill), so I think it dispels some of the myths floating around the community," says MacNabb. Local customers paid 18 million dollars in fixed and variable water rates last year.
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Agenda Package with slide show presentation at http://www.rdno.ca/agendas/150514_AGN_GVAC_SPEC_Full.pdf
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