Water/wastewater rates could begin jumping by a greater percentage in the event that city council members support a recommendation by staff.
Annual increases of six per cent have been proposed in a staff report which city council members will vote on during their April 22 finance and administration committee meeting.
The long-range financial plan update follows through on a recommendation by consultants at BMA Management Consulting Inc. to help pay for a municipal infrastructure spending gap.
At six per cent, annual increases would exceed the 4.8 per cent city council members have approved during the past few budget cycles.
The real-life impact for an average residential user is a rate increase of $95.8 next year (compared to $72.1 under this year’s 4.8-per-cent increase).
In the example property provided in the BMA report (a residential customer whose property uses approximately 180 cubic metres* of water) the user’s total water/wastewater bill in 2025 will be $1,585. With a six-per-cent hike in 2026, it would jump to $1,681.
After compounding due to annual increases of six per cent, this user would pay $2,253 by 2031.
Between water and wastewater capital needs, the BMA report cites a $51.4-million annual funding shortfall, which is in the same ballpark as the $54.1-million annual spending gap the city estimated in 2023 as part of a larger $130-million annual infrastructure gap across all services.
“It should be noted that the 25-year need was greatly impacted by the cumulative deferred capital backlog that has accumulated over a number of years,” according to the latest report.
“This shortfall will require a significant increase in the water and wastewater revenues.”
A recent visible symptom of long-term infrastructure underfunding has been the repeated water main breaks off of Skead Road in the past few months.
Last week, city Linear Infrastructure Services director Joe Rocca told Sudbury.com that the cast iron water main was installed in the early 1960s and was at the end of its useful life. It’s being replaced this summer.
“All northern municipalities have identified infrastructure deficits,” the BMA report notes. “Greater Sudbury has a very complex and costly system which services an extremely large land area requiring more linear and vertical infrastructure than most other Ontario municipalities.”
Meanwhile, people are using less water, which means fewer cubic metres to bill users for.
During the past decade, total billable consumption has declined by approximately 0.8 per cent annually, which the BMA report said echoes what has been seen in other Ontario municipalities.
They cite the replacement of inefficient toilets, smaller lot sizes, lower-use showerheads and other conservation efforts as helping reduce use.
By upping annual water/wastewater rates by six per cent, the BMA report anticipates filling the spending gap by hitting annual target contributions by approximately 2040.
From 2016 to 2019, city council members approved annual water/wastewater rate increases of 7.4 per cent. From 2020 to present, they’ve approved annual rate increases of 4.8 per cent.
Despite these increases, infrastructure projects have put “significant strain on the budget,” according to a report by city Finance co-ordinator Carlee Parisotto.
“It is also worth noting that inflation has exceeded the rate increase on multiple occasions over the past five years,” she wrote. “With substantial increases in operating costs, our capacity for capital funding has been further compromised.”
The April 22 finance and administration committee meeting will begin at 6 p.m. It can be viewed in-person at Tom Davies Square or lifestreamed by clicking here.
During the April 22 meeting, members will also vote on whether to proceed with a deferred cost-sharing arrangement to build a road opening up the Kingsway Employment District.
City council members were slated to vote on the arrangement last month, until Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbée introduced the successful deferral by citing “some new information” that had come to her attention. She has declined to expand upon this vague rationale.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
*Editor's note: This line has been updated to reflect the proper volumetric of measurement.