Utility rate hearing set for Sept. 13

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This article was published 09/08/2023 (1177 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A public hearing on proposed water and wastewater utility rate increases for the City of Brandon has been set for Sept. 13 by the Public Utilities Board.

Brandon City Council had made the request for a public hearing when approving the rate application in July 2022 and reaffirmed its desire to hold one in a unanimous vote held at its last meeting.

Notice of the hearing was provided on the board’s website last week before the pre-election media blackout went into effect, with the city putting out its own announcement about the event on Tuesday.

Current water and wastewater rates went into effect on July 1, 2018.

The PUB’s notice states that the hearing will cover two applications by the city. One of them requests approval for Brandon to almost double its water and wastewater utility rates between this year and 2026.

The city had budgeted for the increases to go into effect on July 1 of this year, but approval was not granted in time. A release sent out by the city on Tuesday stated that the revenue shortfall resulting from delayed implementation will be in the area of $1.35 million by the end of the summer.

For the other application, Brandon is asking permission to implement a $0.19 per cubic metre rate rider for water and a $0.21 wastewater rate rider to make up for operating deficits worth $15,869,919 incurred in the years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021.

If approved, the rider will be in place for seven years.

At the July 17 city council meeting, administration told councillors that if they were to revoke Brandon’s request to hold a public hearing, it would help speed up the timing of the PUB’s final decision.

However, PUB executive director Darren Christle told the Sun after that meeting that the timing of the board’s decision would not have changed if the request had been revoked.

Christle also told the Sun that the city’s application hadn’t entered the queue until January this year because some errors needed to be corrected beforehand, which was not referenced in administration’s report.

On Tuesday, city manager Ron Bowles said that corrections are a regular part of the application process. It’s a complex process that changes over time and the city had to get used to the current format.

“They want things a specific way that works for them,” Bowles said in a phone interview. “The last time we did this review was in 2015 and 2016. Systems change in that time. And so there are back-and-forth edits and clarifications.”

Bowles added that the city was not aware that the 12-month estimated time for an application to be processed by the board started from the date the corrected and approved version is accepted and not when the application is initially submitted.

As for whether revoking the request for a hearing would speed up the process, Bowles said that was a misconception of the city’s that has since been clarified by the board.

“If people want to weigh in officially on the public hearing, they should put in a submission or attend the public hearing to talk directly to the Public Utilities Board,” Bowles said. “Our main focus has been on delivering safe clean drinking water to existing Brandon residents and businesses. That’s where our focus has been and will continue to be where we focus and to do that, we want to do so at fair utility rates.”

For information on the city’s utilities and the rate application, residents are asked to reach out with questions to the city itself. Questions about the public hearing can be sent to the Public Utilities Board.

The hearing will be held in the foyer of Brandon City Hall on Sept. 13, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and the event itself scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m.

Members of the public are welcome to attend and comment on the proceedings without signing up in advance.

Those who want to send in written submissions to the hearing should mail them to the The Public Utilities Board, 400 — 300 Portage Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R3C 0C4 or email them to publicutilities@gov.mb.ca.

Groups and individuals wanting to present more formalized positions on the hearings and present evidence to the board must sign up in advance to request intervenor status. Applications for intervenor status must be sent through the board’s website at pubmanitoba.ca.

Written correspondence and intervenor applications must be received on or before Aug. 25, 2023.

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