Luebke to pitch relief for water rate hikes

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This article was published 08/11/2023 (1086 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon city councillor will bring forward a resolution at a future council meeting asking staff to look into a financial relief program for residents most affected by recently-approved water and wastewater rate increases.

Coun. Bruce Luebke (Ward 6) gave notice at Monday’s meeting that he intends to introduce a motion to that effect.

Last month, Manitoba’s Public Utilities Board approved a request from the city to raise rates for the first time in seven years. These increases will almost double the amount ratepayers pay for water and wastewater.

The first increase was implemented retroactively to Oct. 1, 2023 with more increases scheduled to come into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, Jan. 1, 2025 and Jan. 1, 2026.

That was followed up by Brandon City Council passing a bylaw finalizing the increases at its Nov. 6 meeting.

The board’s report criticized the city for the length of time between increases, recommending that Brandon consult with ratepayers and stakeholders “about creating targeted programs to alleviate the financial hardship faced by the Utility’s customers.”

When the Sun asked city manager Ron Bowles about that recommendation following the report’s release, he said that programming would likely be in the form of educating users on how they can use less water and by extension, spend less on their water bills.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Luebke said education should be a component of the programming, but that it should be supplemented with some sort of rebate program for lower-income individuals.

“I think we need to be cognizant there are going to be some people that are going to struggle with the increased water rates, especially as they move up over the next couple of years,” he said.

On the education front, Luebke said he wondered if the city could perform audits of residents’ and businesses’ water usage to help pinpoint how they can reduce the amount they use.

“I think it’s one thing to … sit here and tell you if you want your water bill to be less, you need to use less water, but you may not understand the best ways to go about that,” Luebke said.

When it comes to financial assistance, he said there could be opportunities to provide rebates for people under a certain income threshold, seniors or people living on disability payments.

He pointed to Regina as one example of a community with programming in this area, offering a rebate on water rates for low-income residents as well as a program assisting residents with the costs of installing more water efficient appliances and fixtures like low-flow shower heads.

The rebates he has in mind would be for individuals and not businesses, he said.

In the overall discussion around affordability in the city, Luebke said there have been talks about providing reduced rates for Brandon Transit or recreational programs to people below a certain income threshold. Providing a water-rate rebate could fit into that.

“You’re not necessarily going to get a cheque back, but you might get a rebate on what you (spend),” he said. “It would be incumbent on people to actually go through some kind of application and verification process.”

He said he doesn’t know if a program will end up being approved, but that it’s a discussion that needs to happen at the council table.

With rates theoretically being tied closer to inflation after the current increases are in place, Luebke said a rebate program might not need to be in place for future rate hikes.

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