The price for water and sewer in Port Coquitlam is set to rise a combined 5.78% next year.
The 2020 draft utility rates, which went before the the city’s committee of council Tuesday, show water levies will go up by 3.78% while sewer charges will increase by 2%. The proposed water price hike means an extra:
• $16.94 for single-family homes and secondary suites, to $464.99 (from $448.05);
• $15.87 for townhouses, to $435.59 (from $419.72);
• and $15.07 for apartments, to $413.81 (from $398.74).
The new sewer fee — also due to be adopted Jan. 28, prior to the 2020 operational budget deliberations — translates to an additional:
• $6.65 for single-family homes and secondary suites, to $339.08 (from $332.43);
• $6.24 for townhouses, to $318.02 (from $311.78);
• and $5.91 for apartments, to $301.40 (from $295.49).
Seniors who own PoCo property will continue to receive a discount on utilities. This year, there was a 5% uptick in the number of elderly householders claiming the discount, which resulted in a $119,506 hit to the city books.
“It’s reflective of our demographic,” Farouk Zaba, PoCo's financial planning and systems manager, said of the seniors’ discount. “We are seeing more people subscribe to that.”
The utility rate jump for commercial properties matches the residential rise.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Coun. Darrell Penner questioned why PoCo businesses get a cut for buying more water and if other Lower Mainland cities are offering a similar reduction for commercial uses (city staff did not have an answer).
Penner said if PoCo wants to save money on bulk water purchases from Metro Vancouver, there needs to be a bigger push toward water conservation.
PoCo’s combined utility rate jump for 2020 is the biggest since seven years ago, when water levies went up 6.11% and sewer 3.38%. Since then, utility charges have been relatively low or flat (in 2019, it was 4.05% for water and 0.82% for sewer).
To prepare for future utility fee increases, PoCo has tucked away $80,000 a year into its water and sewer stabilization funds to soften the impact for taxpayers. To date, the water reserve sits at about $1 million while the sewer account has $417,000 (contributions didn’t start until four years ago).
Earlier this year, committee of council set out guidelines for when council could dip into the stabilization reserves — and when to contribute to them — but “since the rate increases are below 4.5%, we do not propose to use the stabilization reserve funds in 2020,” said Karen Grommada, PoCo’s finance director.
Metro Vancouver’s five-year forecast for utility rates — described by PoCo’s CAO Kristen Dixon as being historically “unreliable” — are projected at:
• 2020: 6% for water, 4% for sewer;
• 2021: 6.1% for water, 13.9% for sewer;
• 2022: 8.8% for water, 15.6% for sewer;
• 2023: 9.9% for water, 13.4% for sewer;
• and 2024: 10.1% for water, 8.1% for sewer.
PoCo's water distribution system services about 25,000 customers who receive 9.2 million cubic metres of potable water a year. About half of the water consumed in PoCo originates from Seymour Lake; the other half is from Coquitlam Lake.
PoCo utility bills are mailed out the second week of February, with payment due by March 31.
Property taxes are collected in early July after the operations budget is voted on by council in May.
