A Mount Allison University politics professor says the leaflet included in the latest quarterly Sackville water and sewer bills makes it difficult to compare the rate increases that small residential users are facing with those for larger consumers such as apartment building owners and commercial operators.

In an e-mail to Warktimes, Mario Levesque says that if the town had included the percentage increases in brackets under the dollar figures for residential users, people would see that the percentage increases for smaller water users are roughly double those for the bigger consumers.
“Even if the town did not intend to mislead customers, the end result is still very misleading,” Levesque writes.

Tantramar Treasurer Michael Beal says the town chose to report the residential figures in dollar amounts so that those users could see at a glance what their minimum quarterly charge will be if they use 30-cubic metres or less every three months.

(30-cubic metres would fill a backyard pool that is five metres or 16.4 feet long, three metres or 9.8 feet wide and two metres or 6.5 feet deep.)

Beal confirmed that the percentage increases Levesque calculated for residential users are correct and that as water use increases over the minimum amount, the percentage increases drop.

“The person who uses more will pay a lower percentage, but will pay more dollar wise year-over-year,” Beal explains in an e-mail that also included the following water and sewer use chart for 30, 60 and 100 cubic metre users:

click to enlarge

Beal points out, that as the chart shows, water and sewer operations charges (as measured by meters) rise with increasing consumption, but water and sewer treatment charges are billed at the flat rate of $45.00 each in every quarter this year.

The total annual bill this year for residential consumers who use 30 cubic metres or less is $615.60; for 60 cubic metre users, it’s $871.20 and for 100 cubic metre users, it’s $1,212.

“The more you use, the less you pay per cubic metre,” Levesque says. “No incentive to conserve there.”

Beal also provided charts showing that customers who use 150 cubic metres or less per quarter are paying $3,078 this year for a 3-inch pipe and meter service and $4,356 for a 4-inch one.

Customers who use 300 cubic metres or less per quarter pay $6,156 this year for a 3-inch service and $8,712 for a 4-inch one.

For my report on how and why Sackville began gradually increasing its water and sewer rates starting in 2017, click here.