A proposed 7.2 per cent increase to property owners' monthly utility bills is largely a result of the need to restore the city's utility reserves, a rate increase implemented by ARROW Utilities, and increased electricity costs for the city.
St. Albert city council heard details of the possible increase during departmental presentations on the 2024 budget last week. The city's proposed budget for next year, released late last month, also comes with a 5.5 per cent property tax increase.
St. Albert property owners are set to pay about $154.68 a month in municipal utility fees next year, an increase of $10.44 per month. The utility fees include charges for drinking water, which the city purchases from EPCOR; wastewater, which the city pays the non-profit ARROW Utilities (formerly the Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission) to clean; stormwater, for which the city maintains infrastructure; and garbage pickup, which the city hauls to Morinville.
The proposed budget includes a breakdown of how the fees for each of the four services are calculated, and one of the main factors behind the 7.2 per cent increase is a combined $5.27 per month increase to the supplemental capital contribution charge for water and wastewater.
A supplemental capital charge is a monthly fee the city charges property owners to pay for major water, wastewater, and stormwater projects, such as the $33.5 million replacement of the Sturgeon Heights Water Reservoir and Pump Station that got underway earlier this year.
On Nov. 1, in response to questions from several members of council, senior manager of utilities Regan Lefebvre said the supplemental capital contribution for water is set to increase by a little less than $3 a month next year because the city's water reserve is in overdraft from the Sturgeon Heights reservoir replacement.
“We still have to pay for that Sturgeon reservoir project," Lefebvre told council. "It wasn't fully funded; we didn't fully collect for it in advance. We had built up somewhat of a reserve, but our capital water reserve is now in a deficit position.”
Another factor behind the proposed utility increase is ARROW Utilities (wastewater) increased its rate, which the city has no power to control.
The rate per cubic metre of wastewater generated by each property is set to go up by $0.30.
Coun. Ken MacKay, who currently serves as ARROW Utilities board chair, told his fellow councillors the wastewater management body needed to increase its rate because of increased operating costs, and the “large amount of infrastructure failures” that needed to be repaired this year.
In late December 2022, an ARROW Utilities-operated underground pipe burst, causing a significant sewage spill into Big Lake. The spill prompted Alberta Health Services to maintain a water quality advisory warning residents to avoid coming in contact with lake water for seven months.
Then, in September, another ARROW Utilities-operated sewage pipe broke and leaked sewage just south of the Heritage Lakes neighbourhood. At the time, organization spokesperson Cindy De Bruijn said the spill wasn't significant; however, its location made it difficult for repair crews to access the pipe break.
“The costs of infrastructure is almost astronomical in relation to [the failures],” MacKay told the rest of council. “Although there's some short-term pain here, there's really some fantastic opportunities to stabilize the rate. We're ... actually looking at maybe consistently lowering the rate, and it could be as early as 2026.”
As well, the proposed budget shows the flat rate, or base charge, property owners pay for water is set to increase by $1.43 per month next year. According to a brief report to council written by Lefebvre, this is because the city faces higher costs for electricity, equipment, and staff costs for all utility services.
Lefebvre's report also says the increase was partially offset by the city lowering its projection for how much water St. Albertans use, as the city has over-projected for the last two years.
