Storm Water Utility Proposal Flows
Thursday, October 17, 2013 @ 1:54 PM
Prince George, B.C. –The public consultation on the proposed new storm water utility is about to begin, but not before members of the media were invited to a “briefing”.
The proposed new utility would see you paying a separate “utility” rate to help build up a reserve for storm water management and maintenance of existing storm water, run off infrastructure.
According to information presented, the City of Prince George is expecting pay nearly $3.9 million dollars next year for the repairs , operations upgrades and re-investment for the pipes, catch basins and ponds that have been set up to deal with run off.
With the bulk of the City’s storm/drainage infrastructure having been installed between 1971 and ’81, some of it (depending on type of material used) is reaching the end of its expected lifespan which can range from as low as 40 years to a maximum of 80.
However, the funds raised through this new utility could be put into a reserve to be used to deal with storm or flooding issues, that could would include the development of a dyke. You may recall the City’s plan to borrow funds to construct a dyke died when the alternate approval process prevented Council from having the authority to move forward to borrow the necessary funds.
The plan being proposed would have those who have more “impervious” areas on their property pay more. So for residential areas, the larger the roof surface, the more pavement you have, the more you would pay. Same story for those large industrial, or institutional facilities.
The proposed annual residential rates are as follows:
Single family ( small) – $57.74
Single family (Medium) $85.20
Single family ( Large) $116.22
There would be varying rates for townhomes, duplexes and so on.
Proposed commercial rates would range from a low of $77 for downtown retail, to a high of $10,435 for commercial retail in the bowl area.
Industrial rates would range from $58 to a high of $5562.
There is nothing set in stone, as the public consultation period is just beginning and there is a possibility of credits being issued to those developments or home owners who have integrated storm drainage facilities on their properties, for instance, UNBC and the Treasure Cove Casino both have storm drainage systems on site, so may be eligible for a rebate or credit.
The consultation process is just getting underway, but it is expected Council will make a final decision on whether or not to proceed with the plan before the end of this year. It would then take another year and about $350 thousand dollars, before the utility would be ready to implement.
If the project moves forward, the new utility would come into effect in January of 2015.
There are several communities in B.C. which already have a drainage utility, Surrey, White Rock, Pitt Meadows, West Vancouver, North Vancouver and Richmond. The rates range from a low of $78 to a high of $276.
There are two public information sessions set for today, the first starts at 4 and runs until 5:30, the second starts at 6:30 and runs until 8. Both sessions are being held at the Civic Centre in rooms 204/205 and 206.
Comments
Costs could have been covered and then some by the extra funds needed to make the new cop shop an architectural marvel.
City Council= Council of Thieves.
They have it in the Vancouver area so we better have it.
When will the air we are breathing be taxed? Amount of taxes determined by height and weight and lung capacity!
And what exactly are the 350 grand for? Any ideas?
Don’t tell me that the dyke is still a resurrection candidate as is the ever present threat of a huge jump in taxes for the infamous PAC!
This sounds like Pandora’s box to me. It’s early so the details will come in due time, but I’m throwing it out there anyway… Will they be taking into account roofs that drain onto lawns; driveways with a crown that also partially drain onto a lawn; those with lawn basins on their property? If they are going by each lot’s use of the storm system, what about those with ditches, is that factored into the user fee as the maintenance costs differs from a piped system?
This, like most of the proposals put forward by the City, is insane. In fact it is nothing more than a ploy to access more tax dollars.
We already pay taxes for the existing storm sewer run off. If we have been paying taxes for years, why is so much maintenance needed.
Like Roads, Garbage, Winter Games,. the Storm Sewer Utility will be a separate line item on your tax bill, while the City continues to tax you for this service on your regular bill.
All these services continue to cost more money, including the high cost of all the staff at City Hall, however nothing is being done to reduce the cost of running this City.
Time for this Council to fish or cut bait.
PS. The Cities attempt to borrow money for a Dyke on River Road, has nothing to do with this issue, and in fact is nothing more than a red herring.
The money being squirreled away in the Capital Project Fund for the Performing Arts Centre, and other projects, should be used for this type of maintenance. Lets solve our infrastructure problems, before we build anymore gaudy buildings.
The Performing Arts Centre proposal needs to be taken to a referendum, and put on the ballot of the next election, so we can resolve this issue one way or another. That way we can avoid all the back room BS that is presently taking place.
What is the property tax bill for again? Pretty soon your utility bill will look the same as your property tax bill. Stop the insanity and learn to live within your means City council! Next up on your next utility bill…..snow removal!!! Kaching!
WTF next!!!
So would that mean that the houses in the semi rural areas that only have ditches along their properties would be exempt from this tax.
the amount of money they have spent on our drainage ditch over the past 3 years would not cover the cost of a cuppa at Tim’s. Perhaps the next scam will be to charge us extra just to send us a bill. Sounds like there is a total lack of accountability at the local ‘white house’.
This idea is complete BS
let us think of the separate taxes we can have
1: pot hole repair
2: road repair
3: road replacement
4: garbage container replacement
5: council salaries
use the KISS principle and do not have a firkin tax for every item.
I can explain what KISS stands for if you want.
KISS….Keep It Secret Stolz ?
So what is their philosophy on small, medium and large houses? Shouldn’t it be based on lot size not house size? The bigger the lot the larger the runoff. You could have a small house on a large lot with more runoff than your neighbour with the large house on the small lot.
Next up, mowing the meridian tax!
“However, the funds raised through this new utility could be put into a reserve to be used to deal with storm or flooding issues, that could would include the development of a dyke.”
What an idiotic idea!!!
The water coming down the river to this city does not come from our “property”. It is the runoff from the entire upper Nechako and Fraser watersheds which are primarily the property of the Province.
Come to think of it, I was under the impression that the province does pay for some or all of the protection, certainly when a flooding event occurs and emergency moneys are released.
If we have to be taxed for the areas which drain into our local storm system, then the same principal should hold for the areas of the province which drain into the river systems upriver.
Want to start attributing the costs to those areas which generate the costs? Then do it equitably! There is too much downloading of items which are provincial responsibility without the City making it easy for them to do that.
We have useless people at the helm. They can’t even fight for us. Take the easy way out. Hit the local taxpayer!
“The plan being proposed would have those who have more âimperviousâ areas on their property pay more. So for residential areas, the larger the roof surface, the more pavement you have, the more you would pay.”
Roof surface? Most people have sloped roofs with gutters and rainwater leaders which drain onto impervious landscaping at worst or into “rockpits” at best.
Many people have gravel driveways and some have cracks in the impervious pavement which will intercept water and drain it to the pervious layer underneath.
In my case, I have a while park which slopes to my property and drains over our property to the street. They were supposed to build a ditch and berm to divert the runoff water, but did not.
I have a lot of money coming from the City if I implement the same principles they are proposing ……. ;-)
That should read “a whole park” not a “while park”
Ditto to many of the above comments and;
Will the City have to create a whole new department, with of course the requisite assistants, deputies, undersecretaries, secretaries, multiple levels of middle to upper management, etc?
Will there be a crew that spends years “surveying” all of the properties in the city, in order to assess and determine how impervious they are to drainage?
Try to compare commercial buildings that have roof drainage connected to storm sewers to those that do not, or those that do, but also drain water to adjacent landscaping?
A Pandora’s box indeed.
metalman.
I have a the eves drops from my house run into their own septic field and a ditch in front of the house that I maintain. My mom has hers run into barrels that she uses to water her garden. So I assume that we will not have to pay this tax since we are not hooked up to the ‘system’?
Next up for this council will probably be water meters so they can tax you watering your lawn and getting the run off?
Also this is a great way to encourage people not to pave their driveways and parking lots if its only paved lots that pay the fee.
So if we take roads, water, sewer, and garbage out of the property tax bill and yet the property tax bill continues to increase… then what is the property tax paying for anymore.
The thing about PG is that we have huge property tax risk from rising interest rates. Most cities on the island are nearly debt free so for them if interest rates double their property taxes don’t change, however for PG if interest rates double then our property taxes go up 15-20%.
Is this what its all about the cities with high debt, then off loading their responsibilities for property taxes to separate line item utility bills… to make room for hiding the rising cost of interest payments for over spending?
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