A reminder from the City of Prince Rupert about the payment options available for residents during COVID has provided for some commentary related to the upcoming delivery of civic utility bills, with one resident using the City of Prince Rupert Facebook page to ask a question of City Hall.
In a short note attached to the city's advisory, Prince Rupert resident Gary Nelson calls for a discount on the annual water utility bills, a sentiment shared by a few other residents, who have clicked on with a like.
Residents of the City of Prince Rupert have been under a Boil Water Notification since some summer storms stirred up the turbidity of the water supply currently coming from Shawatlans Lake.
Other than a short pause at the end of September, the community has remained on the Water Advisory through the fall and it's one that now continues on into the second month of 2021, you can review some of those themes of the last six months from our archive on the topic here.
The last official update from the City came on December 11th, beyond that there have been few notes provided from City Council as to whether there are any short term remediation options that the city might consider towards concerns from residents.
That as we all await completion of the large scale water system program currently underway.
The topic of the ongoing Boil Water advisory is also one that has not made for much discussion at City Council in recent months.
So far the City has not provided for an answer to the question on the City's Facebook page, but as they say, watch this space ...
Residents of the city should be seeing the 2021 Utility bills in their mailbox at mid month.
For more notes on Civic issues see our Council Discussion archive page here.
I am immune compromised and require assistance to bring bottled water into my home. Then there is the cost of the bottled water I have been going through. This is not a cheap way of obtaining water.
ReplyDeleteThe city should factor this in prior to mailing the invoices out. A rebate when paying bill would be a good idea.
Just $20 per resident rebate x 13,000 residents = $260,000
DeleteSeriously think thats a good idea? that would either be a tax increase or a delay to the water treatment plant
Great question to ask, another one to ask is why are we paying more for water we have to boil?
ReplyDelete"The city is increasing water utilities by 4% for 2021, and 2% each year for the next three years."
this type of article really degrades your blog. One guy on facebook gets a feature because he gets 3 likes?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback, not sure how it degrades the blog though. It's a valid point on the current water situation offered up by a city resident on the Mayor's own social media platform ... suspect the comment was a seed, shall see if anything comes in from the planting I guess.
DeleteSo far you are response number three to the story
NCR
Well, before we get mail ... should point out that the city has oft said that any lead related issues are those found in existing plumbing within the individual homes/business/institutional locations and is not found in the water supply delivered by the City to those points ...
DeleteNCR
you should know better...we are paying more for water becuase its costing millions to fix problems that decades of councils ignored. would you seriously rather save a couple quarters on your utility bill if it meant the water treatment plant got delayed a few years?
ReplyDeleteIf you go back in the archives you'll note that there have been some funding announcements in the past from Federal and Provincial programs that suggest that a significant portion of the money required for the plant (and other projects) is coming from those sources ... I think you're missing the point of those who have commented, that of the additional cost (and for some the burden) that the boil water notices have provided for some. On that topic however, with the utility bills about to arrive in mailboxes, it might be a timely Moment for Mayor. and Council to offer up a progress update on the water infrastructure program, outlining if its on track, if there have been any cost over runs or any other notes of interest related to such a vital part of our infrastructure.
DeleteNCR
Just remember the increase in utilities is a tax increase. When you get your tax increase in June they will not acknowledge this as a tax increase. When budget deliberations start ask the city what cuts they have taken to decrease expenditures by the city.
ReplyDeleteThey are very good at spending that is the easy part. The mayor is not interested in doing the hard work namely decreasing the spending.