The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
An advocate for Flin Flon's poor fears that rising taxes and utility bills will take food off of tables and drive some residents to crime. Dennis Hydamaka, food distribution chairperson at the Lord's Bounty Food Bank, issued the warning to city council at their meeting last week. He said he is concerned about the financial one-two punch of higher taxes for low-end homes and utility bills that will increase because of the new water treatment plant. Hydamaka said that raising taxes on low-end homes would impact many rental units occupied by welfare recipients who already use grocery money to cover rent. Hiking utility bills for all homes, he said, will be another cost for those residents to absorb. Hydamaka said the cost increases will make them 'hungrier' and that he doesn't think the food bank, if still operational, can handle 'what I expect will be the number of people coming to the door for food.' 'And thus the crime rate will increase,' he told council. Starting in 2014, council hopes to implement a new system for funding police and fire protection that has the effect of raising taxes on the least-valuable homes in Flin Flon. No home would have paid more than about $350 extra per year had the system been implemented in 2013 as originally hoped. If it takes effect in 2014, the maximum would be slightly higher. As for utility bills, the city acknowledges that residents will begin paying more by virtue of the water treatment plant, expected to begin operating by next month. At a recent public forum, Chief Administrative Officer Mark Kolt said rates will go up 'considerably' but could not provide a specific figure. Kolt said the city must still conduct a study to determine how much additional revenue will be needed to run the treatment plant. Addressing Hydamaka, Mayor George Fontaine said he is 'not expecting the kind of surprises' the city had when costs at the sewage treatment plant surpassed initial estimates. Between 2005, the year the sewage treatment plant opened, and 2008, utility bills shot up 129 per cent _ from $376 to $859 per year per home. In an unrelated matter, Hydamaka commended the city for repairing a wooden sewer box that forms part of a walkway near his home. He had repeatedly expressed safety concerns about the box, which included unstable planks as well as a step he felt was too steep.
