Water and sewage rate hikes are on the agenda for Timmins council's first meeting of 2021.
While council received its first look at the proposed 2021 budget last month, water rate hikes were not included.
Because of the provincial shutdown, council is meeting virtually. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and can be viewed here.
Here are some items to keep an eye on:
- KPMG will give a water and wastewater rate presentation. The four observations in the report are that: from a financial perspective, the city's water and wastewater operation are challenged, infrastructure renewal "appears" to be a concern, rate affordability "may not be a significant concern", relying on flat-rate structure compared to metres "impacts operational effectiveness and public policy objectives". It also lays out potential ways for the city to address the utility issues. The full report is available here.
- A bylaw to approve the 2021 water and sewer rates is also on the agenda. The full proposed rate schedule is available here.
- An update on the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) is slated. Staff is recommending that the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) act as the not-for-profit entity to allocate the money. The city implemented the four-per-cent tax in 2019. It applies to hotels, motels, cottages and other short-term accommodations such as Air BnBs. It doesn’t apply to campsites and campgrounds, or university and college residences. The city started collecting the money May 1, 2019, so far none of it has been allocated. Read the full report here.
- A water and wastewater rebate program for low income earners is up for approval. During last year's rate discussion, administration was asked to consider offering a program to "offset future increases on the utility bills", according to the report. Staff anticipate it would cost about $15,000 a year offer. People would have to apply for the application-based program annually by Dec. 31 for the year the rebate is being applied to. Approved homeowners will receive a $50 annual credit. It's being suggested the rebate be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2020 because it was talked about in the 2020 budget. The report is available here.
The full agenda is available here.
