Thursday, July 29, 2010

Further on "Question on sewer rates."

Since I only received half a dozen responses to my question I assume most of the sewer customers are not too concerned about the pending rate increases. Perhaps a little extra information may tweak your interest.

There at least tree issues that annoys me about this sudden increase in sewer rates.

1.
It was presented late into the fiscal year, after all our financial plans were finalized. The last two years rates were quite stable as the following table demonstrates:



The $1.54 per cubic meter increase is 20% higher than the previous two years average rate.

2.
The sewage meter measuring the volume of sewage contributed by Coldstream must have had a hiccup. The following histogram demonstrates the volumes registered by the meter during the past two years and the two quarters this year.

Note the volume in the first quarter of this year sticking out like a sour thumb. How can we reconcile a volume of 186,132 cubic meters, 48% higher than the next highest volume registered in the second quarter of this year? It is 88% higher than the average of the first quarter of 2008 and 2009. Does that sound reasonable to anyone? Now the histogram:


3.
While Coldstream is hit with a huge increase in fees “...Okanagan Spring Brewery will have its sewer (biological oxygen demand) surcharge cut by 50 percent until the end of 2012...”(Vernon Blog). This will cost sewer users an estimated $125,000 annually for a total of about $375,000. Is that fair?

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The opinions expressed by "Coldstreamer" are strictly his own and do not represent the opinions of Coldstream Council!

Because I value your thoughtful opinions, I encourage you to add a comment to this discussion. Don't be offended if I edit your comments for clarity or to keep out questionable matters, however, and I may even delete off-topic comments.

Gyula Kiss
coldstreamer@shaw.ca;

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About Me

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I have been a resident of Coldstream since 1976. I have had 15 years of experience on Council, 3 years as Mayor. As a current Councillor I am working to achieve fair water and sewer rates and to ensure that taxpayers get fair treatment. The current direction regarding water supply is unsustainable and I am doing all I can to get the most cost effective water supply possible.