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Council votes no to changing how residents pay sewer debt costs

After a reconsideration, council votes down motion to move portion of debt costs to tax bill
9410178_web1_OBN-municipalhall
Oak Bay municipal hall. Christine van Reeuwyk/Oak Bay News

In a dramatic turnaround, Oak Bay council has reversed its nearly unanimous (6 -1) decision to move a portion of the CRD sewer debt costs onto the tax bill.

Mayor Jensen, who was the sole member to vote against the motion on Oct. 23, used his right as mayor to bring it back before council for reconsideration, after having independent conversations with councillors following the meeting.

It was back on the agenda for reconsideration on Nov. 14, when the motion was shot down, leaving the CRD costs remaining 100 per cent on the water bill.

Coun. Ney was away on business and Coun. Zelka is on medical leave, resulting in the vote coming down to four councillors and the mayor. Coun. Kirby and Coun. Croft changed their original yes positions to a no vote, becoming the majority with Mayor Jensen.

As Counc. Murdoch, who presented the motion, acknowledges, the motion was mostly a philosophical decision about which method the councillors felt was most transparent for dealing with the CRD post-2006 sewer debt costs.

The debate came down to water conservation and clarity on taxes.

It is expected that the CRD will raise the rate again next year, so with the proposed change, residents would see an increase in taxes, with no apparent relief on their utility bill (the raise in rate would fill the gap).

“I changed my vote because I realized that the reason we did the 70/30 split initially was to encourage water conservation, and it’s been an effective incentive to reducing water consumption,” said Coun. Kirby. “In addition, without a lot of effort to communicate this clearly to the public, I don’t think the majority of people will understand the shift. It will just look like we raised taxes 2 per cent. I would rather we have an opportunity to clearly articulate any changes before making the shift.”

A concern for Coun. Croft was that the proposed change would see some houses paying more than others, based on property tax, for the same services being brought to the homes.

“Water is a commodity and it’s one of the most valuable resources we have. I believe we should be charging for water and it should be consistent. It follows from that, that what goes out of the house to pay for sewage treatment should be treated based on water going into the house. It is measurable at the water meter,” said Coun. Croft.

One thing residents miss out on by this motion being voted down, is the ability to defer the portion that would have been moved onto the tax bill.


 
keri.coles@oakbaynews.com

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