By Curtis Galbraith

Potential New Utility Charge

City Hall to take second look at stormwater bylaw

Feb 13, 2024 | 6:00 AM

City Council has voted to delay approving a bylaw that would see Grande Prairie have a separate stormwater utility.

Council made the decision to delay for four weeks to allow more consultation with the community after some concerns were brought up, including from a delegation of business people at Monday’s meeting.

Keddie’s Tack and Western Wear owner Jeff Keddie spoke to council about this. He says his charges would have been 4.8 times higher if this had been approved.

“When you start looking at the size of our land, we have quite a few acres where we’re at, compared to different areas in town, they were paying a third of the rate and that’s all to do with lot sizes and imaginary lines, not the impact on the utility.”

Mayor Jackie Clayton says the intent of this change is to take stormwater out of property taxes and move it to a separate utility bill.

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“With that calculation, there are many considerations of how you calculate that amount.”

“Council’s heard from many business owners and individuals in the community that maybe the method that was being considered wasn’t quite right.”

Clayton says in previous years, calculations of around $8 million for stormwater were included in property tax calculations. That included street sweeping and reserve funds for future system demands. This new idea would see stormwater become part of people’s Aquatera bill.

Clayton adds “there’s many layers to this.”

“Money was coming off your property taxes. However, council has put forward an increase in taxes of 3.28 (per cent). In addition to that, some people saw an increase in their assessment, so your bill at your door may not (be) less than you expected after the stormwater expenses come out of this.”

Clayton says there are many things to consider, including that assessment will be among the factors that influence how much the bill ends up being.

“Whether you have a high assessment or a low assessment impacts that, so if you’re a property owner that pays a high assessment and has less impact on the stormwater utility, you could see a credit to your stormwater utility, so in turn, you’re paying less than you were through the old funding when it was collected through property taxes.”

Three models the city is considering are having a flat rate, one where there is a rate cap and one without such a cap.

Council also approved a motion from Councillor Wendy Bosch to look at a bracket system, similar to a tax bracket setup.

Keddie is hoping the public hears more about this.

“That’s not city council’s fault. They only have so many tools where they put out what’s happening, the same with the police, what’s happening there and with the RCMP.”

“Part of the public has to re-engage more when we see these things.”

Keddie also gave council credit extended its deadline.

He and Clayton are encouraging people to reach out to city council and the mayor if they have questions.

More on the proposed change can be found on the city’s website.