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Water rate hike angers residents Hamlet made changes to fees and delivery schedule to cut deficit
Myles Dolphin
Northern News Services
Published Saturday, June 22, 2013
MITTIMATALIK/POND INLET
Some Pond Inlet residents are confused and angry following a hamlet decision to increase the water rate by 25 per cent.
Pond Inlet residents protest an increase in water fees in front of the hamlet office on June 11. - photo courtesy of Enoch Killiktee
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Protesters took to the streets on June 11 to voice their concerns, coinciding with a visit by Community and Government Services Minister Lorne Kugusak.
Resident Sheila Katsak, who said there was no notice of the increase in the mail, is angry with the decision to charge residents for a call-out fee during working hours.
"The changes caused confusion, questioning and frustration," she said.
"I found myself without water and I was hesitant to call even though my daughter couldn't take a bath after a weekend of camping. We ended up waiting a week before we got our water."
The call-out rate was increased to $75 from $60.
Katsak said she believes there is only one truck to service the entire town and that delivery to residents has been reduced to once a week.
Pond Inlet senior administrative officer Mike Rudkin said a letter was sent to residents on April 15, in which call-out rates were defined and explained.
He said the increase was implemented to help the town reduce its deficit.
"There was an overall increase because the town has had a deficit in water and sewer services in the past four years," he said.
"We did our research and had a water study done in January. The water rates in Pond Inlet hadn't increased since 2000 so we came up with a deficit recovery plan that will eliminate a $1.2-million deficit in the next three years."
Going back to 2000, the increase works out to two per cent per year, Rudkin said. He said that despite increases in fuel and hydro costs, rates have stayed the same for more than a decade.
Rudkin said the hamlet is still working on designing a new water-delivery schedule – six days a week with three trucks – but it's been hard to find enough drivers lately because many residents have begun spending more time on the land.
"Some residents don't agree with being charged during working hours, but if we have more deliveries in a day, there are extra costs to the hamlet," he said.
"We don't have trucks running on Sundays but we have to pay our drivers a four-hour call-back fee for one delivery. We have to cover our costs but if aren't getting adequate delivery services, they can write us a letter that we will review and if there is justification we'll address it."
He cited the example of a woman with medical issues who contacted the hamlet office because she needed water delivered to her home every day. The hamlet put her on a daily schedule.
"We're not here to cause headaches or to cut people off," Rudkin said.
"The main reason for this increase is to get out of deficit. We're also asking residents to exercise conservation and adjust their water usage based on the knowledge that they will be getting water delivered to their homes three times a week."
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