Riverton resident wants balanced water charges in Pictou County
Dennis Raniowski wants to see what he calls “a balancing act” on the rate charges for water services in the Municipality of Pictou County.
The Riverton resident, who has a fire hydrant near his home, sees a surcharge added to his taxes because of his property’s proximity to the hydrant. He believes a system through which the costs of water services are evenly applied across the municipality, regardless of proximity to fire hydrants would be superior to the system in place.
Raniowski has been active for several years in his advocacy for a flat rate for all properties in the municipality, for servicing the water system.
Any sort of charge should be balanced throughout all properties in the municipality, he said, adding “and not the burden of a few select areas that have the water system in them.”
In a letter to the municipality he wrote in 2014, Raniowski asserted that a flat rate makes sense because there are many sources of water that can be used throughout Pictou County, such as “swamps, ponds, lakes, rivers, oceans, swimming pools and hydrants,” and that if there was an evenly distributed charge for water services, it would result in residents’ tax bills only increasing by a couple of cents.
“If the fire service needs water, it doesn’t matter where it comes from,” said Raniowski. “Whether … the water comes from one end of the county … or from hydrants or a town system. I just think a lot of people don’t care for the surcharge on it.
“I know there’s a maintenance cost to it,” he said, “but anybody using water out of the system has to pay a water bill – that’s a given. Anybody using that system in relation to a hydrant gets a surcharge.”
Raniowski raised the matter at an Aug. 21 property services meeting, during which councilors suggested surveying local fire departments to get their thoughts on hydrant rates. Council agreed to put the matter on the agenda for its January planning session.
One silver lining Raniowski has found, in light of the surcharges on his taxes, relates to the quality of the water system connected to his property. That status is known as a hydrant-rated qualification, which has reduced the cost of his insurance.
“The fire department … does it every few years, to prove we can maintain water flow, in any area (with) a hydrant. We can flow 250 gallons a minute, for an hour, no problem,” said Raniowski.
Fire services perform a series of exercises that determine the quality and quantity of water, said Raniowski, who added, “I doubt very many people know about that. I didn’t realize it existed, until I got a property of my own in a hydrant area,” said Raniowski.
He suggested residents of the municipality should consult their insurance companies to see if their properties are hydrant rated, noting that when he did so, it qualified him for a significant insurance reduction.
“If they pay a little bit more for taxes … it might be a substantial saving in insurance. The taxes go up a bit, and somewhere down the road, it could be a bigger saving on the insurance-side,” said Raniowski. “People really don’t know what the fire service has done for them, by (testing for hydrant rated qualification).”