City administration is turning off the taps on a new stormwater-rate formula because it could mean some properties get soaked with 1,000-per-cent increases.
Senior business analyst Stephen Graham presented his report on a new method of charging stormwater utility rates to council at the Sept. 12 committee of the whole meeting, asking for more time to refine the method.
The committee passed a motion recommending council approve $40,000 more for a term analyst position to continue this work, and direct investigating alternatives to the plan that would also account for non-permeable surfaces on a property.
Graham’s report outlines a change from the current flat-rate model, which sees residential properties and especially multi-family residential properties paying a rate higher than is proportional to property size, while commercial and industrial properties pay less. Currently residential properties pay 93 per cent of the total stormwater rates, but only represent about 80 per cent of the city’s area.
Under the proposed new system, properties would be charged based on their size in square metres, which would bring the proportion of cost borne by residential and commercial properties more in line with the area they cover.
But the problem, Graham noted, is that this method could result in huge annual increases to some single-family residential properties. There are 56 residential properties that would pay $300-$500 more, 30 that would pay up to $1,000 more, nine that would pay up to $2,000 more and two properties would see increases of more than $2,000. Currently residential properties pay an annual flat rate of $254.
Similarly some commercial properties would see large increases, with 16 facing increases of more than $10,000 annually. They currently pay a flat annual rate of $571.
Two alternatives Graham considered were to charge a base flat rate plus a variable rate to account for property size, or to cap the rate for each property type to eliminate the large variance on the upper end.
“Both of these approaches are flawed,” he said.
Instead he recommended further study, looking to incorporate a factor that would account for non-permeable surfaces on a property, on the understanding that things like green roofs and grassy areas result in less stormwater runoff and therefore less impact on the stormwater system.
Graham also noted St. Albert currently doesn’t charge stormwater rates to institutional buildings such as the hospital, schools or seniors’ facilities – and is the only municipality in the province not to.
There is no mention in the bylaw of this exemption and Graham said he could find no documentation supporting the exemption. He recommended council either ratify the exemption in the bylaw or remove it – but noted no other municipalities in the province provide such an exemption
Mayor Nolan Crouse said he saw that as a way the city is allowing the province to download costs, and would like to see it come to an end. An updated report is expected to come back to council in the third quarter of 2017.
“I look forward to this report in a year and a half, and we’ll see where we go from there,” Crouse said.
