Weekly newsletter: April 16, 2024

Hi everyone!

On Saturday, I was joined by Councillor Hill, MPP MacLeod, MP Arya, and many others in the community to officially open The Salvation Army’s new building at 102 Bill Leathem.

There’s no doubt that it will become a valuable community hub and gathering space for everybody, and I’m chuffed to have them as a new neighbour.

(Two things — I’ve always wanted to use the word “chuffed,” and I’m curious if there’s anyone actually named Sally Ann in the community.)

Water rate structure review

The City is reviewing its water rate structure and wants your feedback.

Among the more frequent concerns residents have shared with me is how the current structure of water rates is unfair.

Presently, 80 per cent of the costs to deliver a clean and safe supply of drinking water to serviced residential properties (those with city water) are recovered through usage fees, while the remaining 20 per cent come from fixed charges in the water bill.

Those usage fees are structured in tiers. Progression is based on the amount of water used, with each tier charging a higher rate than the previous tier.

(Fun useless fact: “tier” comes from the French word “tirer,” as in what’s pulled next in the draw sequence.)

That means households with more residents automatically progress quicker in the tiers by virtue of gross usage, even if net usage per resident was no different than households with fewer people. It’s inherently unfair and punishes families and multi-generational households.

Another factor is the general success of conservation efforts means the 80 per cent cost recovery based on usage may become inadequate while the costs of delivering the service remain the same.

Staff are considering using aerial imagery to determine what percentage of non-residential properties are made of material that generate more runoff into the stormwater system, the basis upon which stormwater rates can be determined for those individual properties.

For example, a strip mall with a large parking lot may be subject to more stormwater charges than a light industrial building with a green roof and no surface parking if the staff proposal is approved. This is not something being considered for residential properties.

Through the review, staff will also consider options to ensure stormwater billing remains equitable for residents in communities serviced by rural stormwater infrastructure, such as the ditches and culverts in Hearts Desire and Rideau Glen.

Unfortunately, for that, staff have set up information sessions for residents in rural areas only. I will work with them to include an extra session for suburban areas with rural infrastructure in my ward. Updates will be shared by newsletter and social media.

As the review is something with wide ranging impacts on residents across the city, staff have also set up a survey to collect resident feedback the help guide the review. The survey includes a set of multiple-choice questions, plus some with entry fields for longer answers.

The survey is available in English and French until July 31, 2024.

As always, residents may also share their feedback with me at Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca or by replying to the newsletter.

That’s all for this week! Enjoy the weather, and talk soon.

-Wilson