Not one taxpayer or councillor offered comments last week regarding proposed increases of 20.3% and 23.2% respectively for the water and sewer rates in Moorefield.
That prompted Mayor John Green to quip, “Three months from retirement, you dream of meetings like this.”
The monthly water rate in the village will be hiked from $32.45 to $39.04 and the sewer rate will rise from $29.85 to $36.79 – with both to take effect on Oct. 1 to coincide with the township’s bi-monthly billing periods.
The changes raise the total bi-monthly bills from $124.60 to $151.66, meaning residents of Moorefield will be paying $162.36 more per year for water and wastewater services.
Finance director Mike Givens previously explained municipalities must operate on a “full cost recovery” basis for municipal water and wastewater systems, meaning the total revenue received from charges to residents must be identical to the costs to operate the system.
Because there are only 202 billing units in the village, each user has to pay more than they otherwise would.
The rates apply to every single type of residential dwelling. Schools, community centres and car washes pay four times the residential rate, while municipal garages and restaurants pay twice that rate and churches pay the same as residences.
Council voted unanimously in favour of a bylaw to approve the Moorefield water and sewer rate increases.
