Markham raising water and wastewater rates 8.2%


Yorkregion.com
March 5, 2015
By Laura Finney

Things got a little heated as Markham councillors discussed the water and wastewater rate increase during the Feb. 24 council meeting.

Deputy Mayor Jack Heath said he was not happy about the increasing costs.

He said there was a time when water rates were more affordable, and less costly than other expenses such as television and phone bills.

“That’s no longer the case,” he said. “There is nothing in sight that will ameliorate these increases.”

The water and wastewater increase of 8.2 per cent relates to an increase of about 25 cents per cubic meter, explained the city treasurer.

About 19.8 cents will cover the regional wholesale rate, and the rest of the increase will cover non-revenue water, or the cost of water that is lost before reaching the customer, operational costs and a reserve contribution.

The city treasurer added that this year is this fifth year for a 10-per-cent increase from the region, and that percentage is expected to decrease over the next few years.

But Heath questioned if the regional rates would decrease that significantly and said the increases are too much over a short period of time.

“It’s very important to keep water safe, it’s very important to keep it flowing when required and to make sure all our equipment is modern, and checked and up to date,” he said. “But I think the demand to increase reserves for the water and wastewater in Markham and for the regional reserves is too much for this community to hold.”

This year, the average consumer bill will increase about $56 a year, the treasurer said.

And while Heath said people could lower that by reducing usage, some people just cannot afford that.

“Those are the ones we should find answers for,” said Heath.

But Councillor Don Hamilton criticized his comments.

He questioned why Heath would wait until the last minute to present it to Markham council, when he should have said something to the region a number of months ago.

“Well, I appreciate the beautiful speech, why didn’t you do this at regional council instead of here, and actually get something accomplished?” he said. “There are eight councilors sitting at this table that have zero impact, we don’t have a vote at regional council.”

Hamilton also said as a resident he is happy to pay the $56 increase, which is approximately how much it costs him to fill his gas tank for a week.

“I’m happy to pay $56 to know I will have clean drinking water, safe drinking water,” he explained. “I’m going to support this, I’m not going to make a silly speech like the deputy mayor did."

Heath responded and said he had made comments to the region many times, and Mayor Frank Scarpitti verified that.

Heath requested a recorded vote; he was the only one who voted against the increase.

Regional Councillor Jim Jones and Councillor Alex Chiu were absent.