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Friday, January 9, 2009
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Temp:
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-12°C
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Feels like:
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-12°C
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Humidity:
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91%
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Water rates going up |
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Written by Citizen staff
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Tuesday, 02 December 2008 |
A step towards increasing the rates the city charges for water by five per cent was taken on Tuesday night.
Effectively endorsing a plan from the previous council's finance and audit committee, the city's new council gave three readings to a bylaw to hike the rates so that single-family homes and duplexes will pay $111.60 every six months starting in January, $5.34 more than the current amount.
The previous council had endorsed a similar five-per-cent hike effective halfway through 2007 and it was recommended by the finance and audit committee that a further five-per-cent hike be introduced in January 2009.
The hikes to the water rates are designed to rebuild the surplus for that utility back to 25 per cent of the yearly operating expenditures after falling to seven per cent after $1 million was taken out to cover debt payments for the Hart-Nechako water supply improvement, a water main from 15th Avenue to Ferry Avenue and the Cranbrook Hill reservoir projects.
Debt payments rose to $2.75 million in 2008 from $1.29 million in 2005.
Further five-per-cent hikes are also in the works for each of the 2010, 2011 and 2012. Prior to 2008, the last increase occurred in 2004.
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The city's representation on the Fraser-Fort George Regional District board of directors has gone through a wholesale change.
Council elected Coun. Debora Munoz, Coun. Dave Wilbur and Coun. Garth Frizzell to the board during their first regular meeting Monday night, replacing Coun. Don Bassermann and Coun. Murry Krause.
All five had put their names forward for one of the three city councillor spots on the board -- Mayor Dan Rogers automatically sits on the board.
Bassermann has been a long-time regional district director and Krause sat on the board for the last three years. Coun. Don Zurowski, who lost to Rogers in the race for mayor in the recent election, was also a long-time director.
Municipal directors earn $10,500 a year.
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Coun. Camerons Stolz was elected to the library board for 2009. Coun. Shari Green had also put her name forward.
Also elected to the board by council were Terrance Fehr, Neil Godbout, Al Idiens, Bal Sethi, John Shepherd for two-year terms and Shelly Stafford for a one-year term.
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Staff was given permission to apply to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities for a $10,000 grant to find ways to make the city's businesses more seniors friendly.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 December 2008 )
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