City Service and Utility bills begin to drop into homeowners mailboxes

It may be a few days past a Valentine deadline, but this week the City of Prince Rupert is delivering their own notes for its taxpayers, with the arrival in your mail box of this years City Services bill.

The late arriving dart from Cupids' City Hall office,  brings a short tale that will once again see the cost of Water, Sewer and Solid Waste rates increase by roughly 5 per cent this year for the city's taxpayers.

The schedule for what has become annual increases was set last January, when City Council approved the increases for a period of three years.

At that time, the scheduled increases for Water and Sewer rates was set at 5 percent or 19 dollars per year, while Solid Waste increases would also rise by 5 percent of 12 dollars per year.

For the average homeowner in Prince Rupert, those increases continue to mark a steady drift upwards over the last five years.

To provide a bit of a look at the impact that the increases provides to your household budget, the following comparison is indicative of the scale of the increase over those five years.

In 2011 the average Water rate appeared on the Services notice listed at 348 dollars, this year that same service now costs approximately 423 dollars.

In 2011, the average Sewer rate appears on the notice list at 341 dollars, for 2015 that same charge is now averaging out at around 415 dollars.

The Solid Waste charge for 2011 was 312 dollars, while this year's notice will average  out at about 360 dollars from local residents.

Overall, in 2011 an average rated homeowner in the city would have paid approximately 900 dollars for the three Civic Services, while his years notice is billed out at 1,078 dollars.

The Services Rates bill is due by the 31st of March.

For those that make their payment by the due date, there is the opportunity to recoup some of that amount owed by way of a discount. Those making payment by March 31st can find a reduction that averages out at ten percent off.

For more items related to City taxation see our archive page here, for items on discussion topics at City Council sessions see our Council Archive page here.