Flin Flon city council’s hopes of softening the blow of rising utility bills may have been thwarted.
Council recently applied to the utilities regulator, the Public Utilities Board (PUB), seeking either a 30 per cent increase or a more modest 20 per cent boost this year.
At least that’s how council perceived the application.
In actuality, said the PUB’s assistant associate secretary Jennifer Dubois, municipalities only apply for a specific rate increase, not a range of possible increases.
Dubois said a bylaw approved by council seeks a 30 per cent raise, so that is the figure the PUB is taking into consideration.
Mark Kolt, chief administrative officer for the city, said a 30 per cent increase will cover the city’s actual costs.
But in a cover letter accompanying council’s application to the PUB, Kolt said it was stated that council sees merit in boosting rates by 20 per cent this year and making up the difference in 2015.
Coun. Colleen McKee said the idea was to make the increase more incremental given that 30 per cent represents “quite a jump” for ratepayers.
Even though PUB is using the 30 per cent figure, it’s possible the board will determine that number too steep and approve only a lower figure, such as 20 per cent. PUB could also approve a figure higher than 30 per cent.
A 30 per cent hike would cost homeowners who pay the flat rate – the majority of Flin Flonners – an extra $64 a quarter, to $279. A 20 per cent boost would see bills rise by $43 a quarter, to $258.
Costs are up
Mayor George Fontaine said the cost of the utility system has risen by a specific amount, so if bills don’t go up 30 per cent this year, the difference will have to be made up down the road.
“So we’re looking at trying to not create a greater deficit,” he said. “When you do do these sorts of things, we try and just...face the music right away.”
As advertised in The Reminder last month, PUB had been accepting public feedback on the proposed 30 per cent rate hike.
PUB must still determine whether the feedback warrants a public hearing in Flin Flon, giving residents a chance to voice their opinions in person.
It’s not known when PUB will hand down its final ruling. If approval comes before the end of July, the city could adjust the rate in time for its Aug. 1 billing cycle.
“The Public Utilities Board is in full control of their own [schedule] on this,” said Kolt.
The city also hopes to implement much smaller utility increases in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The plan would see non-metered residential rates climb from the current $859
a year to about $1,200
by 2017.
The city says the increase is a simple matter of mathematics given that the tab for operating the water treatment plant must be borne by ratepayers.
In 2014, the city expects to spend $370,000 on water treatment. Without a treatment plant, the city’s budget in this category was $0 in 2012.
