We just got our water bill for the past four months.
What is going on with the CRD? They are out of control.
Our water bill, which is starting to resemble our property tax bill, is now a compilation of various charges linked to water usage, each of which goes up in stratospheric amounts. The CRD’s sewer charge in 2010 for instance was $0.3984 per unit. At the time of our last water bill this charge had been raised to $2.8161 per unit, an increase of 607 per cent. Despite this huge increase the same charge has soared on our current water bill to $3.6187 per unit, an incomprehensible 808 per cent increase since 2010.
This is only one of many charges on the water bill. The Municipality also has their own sewer charge, which has climbed 70 per cent since 2010. Water itself has increased almost 40 per cent since 2010, despite the fact that we live in a temperate rain forest and moss grows on just about everything around our house, including our house. I was just down in Palm Springs a few weeks ago and decided to check their water rates. They are after all in the Mojave Desert. Their rates are half of what we pay.
Only some of the CRD’s board members can be held accountable by the voters, indirectly, as elected mayors and councilors of the municipalities. The remainder of the employees are non-elected bureaucrats and their arm’s length positions shelters them from the reality of people’s stagnant wage and pension growth.
Our water bill over the past year was close to $800, despite our care and brown lawns. Over $300 of that was for the combined municipal and CRD sewer charges.
It’s obvious that the CRD can’t live within our means and their excesses have real consequences for our economy. Who among us has a money tree in their backyard? Every dollar that we have to give the CRD is one less dollar that we have to spend on our local businesses; one less dollar for restaurants, shops and anything else that isn’t critical for survival.
Bill Chalk
Oak Bay