Under business arising from the previous council discussion, Councillor Josie Wintersinger asked if there were any answers regarding the town’s water bylaw.
Councillor Barb Tocher, acting as mayor for the July 12 meeting noticed that in council’s agenda package, the water bylaw – without section 3 – is within water superintendent Frank Smedley’s report to council.
Tocher asked Smedley if council had repealed the entire bylaw, as it updated its water rates.
“No, we didn’t.” Smedley said.
“So we do have a standing bylaw as of today?” Tocher asked for clarification.
Smedley said the town does have a standing bylaw and his report to council outlined its effect on town operations.
In his later report to council, Smedley told councillors he did review the bylaw – without Section 3 – the new water rates bylaw.
He then went through the existing bylaw which he described as one bylaw – with three amending bylaws.
The only item not really covered as things currently stand was the fee to turn the water off and on.
That stems from the last amending bylaw on the rates which states that it was only in force until 2010.
He explained when the municipality drafted the water bylaw, it was just one bylaw.
“The idea was that it would be a lot simpler that way.”
It was then broken into two bylaws, to allow the town to implement new water rates in time for the town’s billing period.
That ended up with two newly-written bylaws to cover everything the municipality was dealing with.
“It would make it a lot easier on staff if we could look at implementing this newer bylaw which is a lot easier to understand [for the public and staff].”
It would also address the fee to turn the water on and off, Smedley added.
He believed that moving forward on this would not affect other discussions in the future over Section 3 – the portion of the water servicing bylaw regarding mandatory water hookups in urban areas.
Councillor Deb Callaghan said this issue has been going back and forth for a while.
She suggested this come back to the next meeting of council to have it passed.
Tocher said she was of a different opinion on the issue.
“I don’t know why we need to deal with this at all until we deal with Section 3.”
She said the existing water servicing bylaw is still in effect “and it still works – the only thing it doesn’t cover is the fee to turn the water off and on.”
Tocher’s next question concerned how often that happens in a given year.
Smedley estimated it happens roughly 15 times each year. When asked if this was because of non-payment, Smedley explained more often it results from people doing repairs or new water services.
Tocher then asked why this was not included with the water rates bylaw.
Smedley said the section which states what the town does is in the older bylaw, but the amending bylaws with the updated rates and fees, states those fees were only in place from 2005 to 2010.
Tocher said her concern was having councillors passing and repealing bylaws,
Smedley said his plan over the long term is to get through all the issues – including Section 3 – “and perhaps next year, have a housekeeping amendment to put it all within one bylaw.”
Tocher stated the town has one water rates bylaw in place and several older water bylaws in place.
“The issue at hand is the mandatory hookup.”
Tocher suggested that since the municipality will be having discussions on that issue later this year with the public, and that council will likely be making a decision at that time, “then we re-write the water bylaw once with the water rates in it … and we’re done.”
Tocher added, “I don’t see why we’d want to repeal and pass, and repeal and pass.”
She agreed with the concept of simply having one bylaw.
“The only reason we pulled it apart was that the water rates needed to be passed. But if we have a water rates bylaw in place which is working, I don’t see why we want pass another bylaw then repeal it so the two could be merged into one.”
Clerk Kathryn Ironmonger said this was something that is a council’s choice.
She said there was no reason council could not passed the proposed water servicing bylaw as it stood, deal with Section 3 at a later point, then bring it back.
Councillor Josie Wintersinger said she’d prefer the bylaw to be brought back to council.
The draft bylaw will be brought back for council’s review at its next regular meeting.
