Water Rates Raised After Debate

Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Thursday, 05 March 2015 16:06
It will cost two percent more to turn on the tap in Greater Vernon this year. That across-the-board rate increase has been approved by the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee after a two hour long discussion, but it was far from unanimous with three opponents. BX-Silver Star director Mike Macnabb supported it, calling it a prudent and conservative increase that will fund the system and put 368-thousand dollars into reserves. "We are also going to have more philosophical discussions about how do we partition it. What's a fixed portion (base fee) and what's the variable portion for users, so it's a good start," Macnabb tells Kiss FM. Vernon director Bob Spiers would like to see agricultural rates rise 10 percent to cover more of the costs for farming water. "The ag cost is conservatively estimated to be $1.4 million a year, and they're contributing right now 700-thousand," says Spiers. The board's farming rep Ted Osborn says the impact of such an increase would have to be looked at, before being implemented. Spiers, along with Vernon's Scott Anderson and Coldstream's Gyula Kiss voted against the rate hike. "I think it should have been zero,"says Spiers. "I've always wanted no more than zero and we're just adding to our reserves, so it makes no real sense to me." Spiers says Greater Vernon Water's current reserve for future needs is at 15 million dollars. Vernon director Catherine Lord calls the two percent hike minimal as she backed it. "Having a minimum cost in place is not going to hurt anything right now. It's actually going to be beneficial because in the long run we are going to need to replace all that infrastructure, so one way or the other, we are gong to need those reserves," says Lord. The board will have a deeper discussion about the rates -- and whether agriculture should pay more of its share -- at a later date.