By Greg Higgins

Majority rules; utility rates increased by 4.5 per cent

Jan 24, 2017 | 4:08 PM

It wasn’t a unanimous decision, but council voted to immediately raise utility rates up 4.5 per cent for the 2017 budget.

In last night’s council meeting at North Battleford City Hall, there was only one thing left to be approved before the 2017 budget got the green light, and that was how big of a rate increase there would be for water and sewer usage per home.

City administration had suggested a three per cent increase in the budget presentation. Council discussed raising it to 4.5 per cent at the Jan. 9 meeting to help pay off city debt, which currently sits just shy of $43 million.

Some councillors, including Len Taylor needed more time to review what exactly it would mean for the residents if rates increased 1.5 per cent more than the suggested three per cent.

“Having taken that time I am now prepared to say I cannot support, and will not support, an increase to 4.5 [per cent],” Councillor Taylor said. “Administration presented us with three [percent] to begin with. We had a very good discussion about the need for some additional funds and how the utilities were being managed and I accept the fact that we have a good management team who can work with three per cent.”

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The total increase will roughly add an additional $30 to annual utility bills. The city informed council the 1.5 per cent increase would gather an additional $100,000 of revenue for the city to bring the totaladditional annual revenue to $300,000. Coun. Greg Lightfoot was on board for the increase.

“We have to pay down our debt. I have absolutely zero opposition to increasing it to 4.5,” Lightfoot said. “I have discussed this with people in the community and there has not been anybody who has been opposed to an increase to make sure we are not using debt to fund capital costs or maintenance.”

Coun. Don Buglas came to Taylor’s defense arguing some residents may not be able to handle the increase. He said in the current economy a three per cent increase is as much as the city could take right now.

Coun. Kelly Hawtin added she appreciated where Buglas and Taylor were coming from and the points they made but ultimately believed 4.5 per cent was the way to go. She said the city has a responsibility to spend wisely and use debt wisely.  The rest of council echoed her sentiments as the motion passed by a vote of five in favor and two opposed.

Council amended the current bylaws to include the increase.

Greg Higgins is a battlefordsNOW’s reporter. He can be reached at ghiggins@jpbg.ca or tweet him @realgreghiggins.