Trail City Councillors have approved the 2025 increases for water and sewage rates.
For the water utility, a 10 per cent increase has been approved, with a three per cent increase for sewage.
The rates were approved during the December 12 council meeting.
For the average household, the increases will equate to about $761 annually after discount, reflecting a $44 annual increase for water and $8 for sewage.
According to a civic document, the rates were determined following a review conducted in conjunction with the proposed operating and capital plan for the next 15 years.
To fund ongoing capital maintenance and upgrades, staff proposed that water utility rates be increased by 10 per cent annually for the next three years, followed by an annual 5 per cent increase in subsequent years.
During the November 12 Trail Governance meeting, CAO Collin McClure said the city’s water rates have been “far too low” to allow for any money to be allocated to capital funding.
“This is a common situation in many communities, where your operating utility rate is not getting anywhere near the amount of money needed to upgrade the infrastructure that is required. The City of Trail is in that process right now.”
The plan for 2025 is to work on a number of small, priority projects, with the major one being the completion of the City’s Water Master Plan. This was not completed this year as planned due to a leadership change in the city’s public works department.
In addition, completing the engineering for the Charles Lake water main upgrade is a key focus.
On the sewage utility side, like the Water Master Plan, the city was unable to complete its sewage relining point repair due to the change in Public Works leadership.
The focus for the sewage utility capital in 2025 is completing the required spot repairs and planning for another significant year of relining sewage mains in 2026.
The rates will come into effect on January 1, 2025.
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