Compounding earlier mistakes with new ones

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/10/2023 (1100 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“Our utility systems are based on user pay. And so the program and where users can help the environment and help their pocketbook is using less water. And if you use less water, your water bill is directly linked to your sewer bill.”

— Brandon city manager Ron Bowles

“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.”

— Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Confessions”

In any other situation, Ron Bowles would be offering good advice.

We should all try to use less water as citizens — not just because most households try to save money in the long run, but also because wasteful use of our water resources is simply bad for the environment.

But, as usual, context is king.

The fact of the matter is this: ongoing mistakes made by the City of Brandon’s administration over the last decade are now coming home to roost. And those mistakes are about to cost Brandonites a sharp out-of-pocket price hike for the water we use.

In a report made public this month, the Public Utilities Board has given approval to a rate increase application from the city that will see water and wastewater utility rates nearly double by 2026. The city recently asked for permission to raise rates — for the first time in years — to help pay for deficits incurred in previous fiscal years, as well as increasing service costs and future infrastructure improvements.

You may recall that the city’s application had not gone into the PUB’s queue for water decisions until Jan. 26 of this year because of miscalculations and errors that had to be corrected, forcing the decision process to be completed only just this month.

That our administration had not been completely forthright with council members who had questioned administration over the PUB’s delay in responding earlier this year, was already adding to our concerns of whether Brandon was being well served by our administration.

Apparently we’re not the only ones questioning that veracity. In addition to approving the water rate hikes, the PUB took time in its report to fully castigate the City of Brandon for its failure to address its own operating deficits regarding the water utility, and its lack of diligence in making regular rate applications to the board.

“Had the city been diligent in making rate applications to the board every three years, the operating deficits incurred by the utility may have been mitigated or avoided entirely,” the PUB report read.

And as we reported today, the PUB also criticized the city for not having complied with an order from the board issued in 2016 that required it to review its water and wastewater rates and file a report and application no later than June 30, 2018.

We get the fact that Mr. Bowles was not present for most of the past decade in which many of these problems arose, and that he has inherited someone else’s mess. Nevertheless, he is compounding these earlier mistakes with new ones.

The PUB also said that the city’s application did not include forecasted cost increases to the southwest lift station project by $10 million and to the former water treatment facility improvements by $12.165 million.

I am glad to see that the city manager has indicated that his team will be following the orders given by the PUB, which include annual reviews of its utility rates, and making more frequent rate applications. The fact that this city failed to do so over multiple years is an embarrassment, a failure that should not be repeated — unless of course city officials think incurring financial penalties is in our best interests.

But to the point at the top of the page, the PUB made one recommendation that I think should be treated as an order rather than the suggestion that it is.

“The unwillingness or inability of the utility to carry out its duties in a diligent manner will put some customers at risk of not being able to afford water and wastewater utility services, as bills constitute too high a percentage of their total household/organizational income,” the report states. “As a result of the utility’s past inaction, the board recommends the city consult with customers, stakeholders, non-profit organizations and other relevant persons/groups/organizations about creating targeted programs to alleviate the financial hardship faced by the utility’s customers.”

Bowles’ response to that recommendation — that city residents will have to learn to use less water — reminds me of a phrase often misattributed to the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette: Let them eat cake.

As the PUB states, water is a necessity of life, and the city has a monopoly on that service — the same city administration that is responsible for the health, safety and prosperity of the people it serves. And right now, there are many Brandonites wondering how they will fit these water bill hikes into their already tight budgets.

Through mismanagement over the last decade, our city administration caused this problem, and our previous city council was apparently oblivious to the seriousness of the situation. While I believe that situation has now changed, it will take more than “conversations and education” to fix it.

» Matt Goerzen, editor