Metro proposes 4.1 per cent fee increase for service delivery
Homeowners face series of hikes to finance major capital projects
Major sewage system improvements are driving a proposed 4.1 per cent increase in the amount Metro Vancouver residents pay for services from the regional district.
At a workshop on Friday morning, members of the Metro Vancouver board of directors heard details about the 2018 budget, which will be considered next week.
The proposed fee increase is $18 for an average household, based on an assessed home value of $1.14 million. The bulk of that increase ($13) is for handling liquid waste, with water ($3) and regional district functions ($2) making up the rest.
Between 2018 and 2022, the amount homeowners pay is expected to go up by more than $100 — $18 next year, $24 in 2019, $26 in 2020, $31 in 2021 and $30 in 2022.
The total burden will be $470 for an average house in 2018, increasing to $581 by 2022. These are averages — the individual amount varies depending on assessed property value, location and actual use of services.
According to budget documents, Metro’s overall spending will increase by 6.8 per cent next year, to $757.5 million from $709.2 million.
Providing water and handling liquid waste will make up more than 70 per cent of the expenditures.
Costs will continue to increase by around seven to eight per cent until 2022, when they are projected to reach just over $1 billion.
Metro’s revenues — most of which come from water sales, sewer levies and solid waste tipping fees — are projected to rise by 6.8 per cent next year.
Phil Trotzuk, operations and financial planning manager for Metro, said there’s “a perfect storm” now in terms of capital expenditures and utilities.
Major liquid waste projects are ramping up, including construction of a new sewage treatment plant on the North Shore, while other infrastructure is being expanded to deal with growth, or being replaced, maintained or upgraded because it is aging. There are also some major water projects on the horizon.
“Those things are all coming together and I think that’s why you’re seeing significant dollars,” Trotzuk said.
The cost of water, sewer and solid waste services show up for homeowners through their municipal utility bills. The charge for running the regional district is on homeowners’ annual property tax bills.
Developers will also share in the cost of expanding sewage infrastructure thanks to a proposed increase in the liquid waste development cost charge, which is applied to new developments.
The charge, which is the only development fee Metro Vancouver charges, funds 99 per cent of the cost of growth-related sewage projects in the region.
Across the region, rates are expected to rise between 75 and 229 per cent. The rates have not been increased in 20 years.
“That’s all to deal with the growth we’re dealing with,” said Trotzuk.
It’s an increase the Greater Vancouver Homebuilders’ Association and Urban Development Institute say will raise development and construction costs and affect housing affordability.
They would like to see the increase phased in.
Currently, “other” revenues such as development charges and reserves make up one per cent of Metro’s total revenue. That will go up to seven per cent by 2022 thanks to the increase, which will be voted on next week by the Metro board.
Although the budget calls for a $18 tax and service fee increase for an average household, that could go up to $21 if Metro’s board approves a resolution by its parks committee.
The committee is asking that the 2018 contribution to the regional park land acquisition fund be increased by $3.8 million, doubling the annual contribution to $7.57 million. The committee voted to do this all at once instead of phasing it in over three years.
The annual tax contribution to the fund has not been increased since 2003, and committee chair Heather Deal said land prices and the region’s population have gone up since.