Vote on water rate hike delayed after councillors ask for more study time

Some city councillorswant more time to study the proposed water rate hike, so instead of voting for the increase, they votedto delay any decision until April.

The motion came from MynarskiCoun.Ross Eadie and was unanimously supported by the water, waste and riverbank management and the environment committee Friday afternoon.

"The public expects us to do due diligence and ensure we know what we are doingand the public has the general impression council doesn'thave the foggiest idea what it's doing,"Eadie told the committee.

Eadie said he believes the water and waste staff are prudent financial managers, but in the best interests of having all the information, he recommended delaying the vote until April.

"After the budget,so the rest of the council and anyone else can take a hard look at this," he said.

Winnipeg's water and waste committee was supposed to discuss and vote on the 2016 budget plans to channel money from a proposed 9.2 per cent water and sewer services rate hike into the city's general revenue coffers.

The proposal hasn't gone over well with a handful of critics at the city and the provincial government.

The rate hike would amount to about a $23 increase to quarterly water bills for a family of four, bringing an extra$6.6 million in revenue from water bills. However, roughly$32 million in projected water and wastedividends will be channelled back into general revenue, the proposed budget states. The city started taking a 12 per cent dividend from water and waste in 2015, when the dividend was more than $30 million; before the 2015budget, the city took an eight per cent dividend.

The proposed rate increase raised the ire of Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Thomas NevakshonoffonThursday, who accused the city of intending to misuse the funds on roads and infrastructure spending when the moneyshould be used to upgrade Winnipeg's aging sewer and water treatment facilities.

St.BonifaceCoun.MattAllardtold the committee on Friday that many aspects of the new budget raise flags, including the plan to movewater and waste revenue into general revenue.

Allard said at this time, councillorsfeel pressured to rush the process along and do not have enough information about the hike available to make an informeddecision.

"We are elected [to be]better [at] transparency and accountability at city hall and this looks like business as usual," he said.

Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt echoedNevakshonoff's concerns, calling the city's water treatment facility an "unmitigated disaster" in dire need of repairs.

Wyatt asked if the city had applied for federal funding for sewage and water treatment upgrades, saying the Trudeau government has expressed interest in investing in municipal water projects.

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The proposed hike, along with the 2016 budget, will go to a council vote on March 22.Nevakshonoffsuggested the policy be reviewed by the Public UtilityBoard before being voted through.

Brian Mayes, chair of water and waste committee,supportsthe rate hike.Mayes saidthe city needs revenue from a water and wasteincrease to fund massive sewage treatment improvements.

The St. Vital councillor doesn't have a problem voting forthree years of increases on the utility charges.He saidvoters willmake theirdecision in the next municipal election.

Mayes also pushed back at calls for the Public Utility Board to takeover setting the city's water and sewer rates. He saidhe prefersthe power to set the rates stay with the city.