Council has a fairly light agenda compared to recent meetings. We have one public presentation, a few lengthy reports and some correspondence to receive. Administration is seeking approval of an increase in water and wastewater rates and a report is coming forward with an option to to design and construct a new watermain crossing Highway 3 to service new industrial lands for our town. Tune in to Essex Ontario Monday at 6:00 to watch it live or find it later at a time that works for you!
Public Delegation:
Kelsey Santarossa, Youth Council Coalition of Canada
RE: The Hour for Hour Challenge to Provide Additional Opportunities for
Youth in Essex.
2021 Water and Wastewater Rates and Financial Plan:
The proposed rates include a 2% adjustment to the base rate for all wards in both water and
wastewater. Whereas the volume rate for Ward 1 & 2 is proposed to be increased by 0.7% and
Ward 3 & 4 is proposed to be increased by 1.2%. The volume rate for wastewater also have
proposed increases in the individual wards – 2.1% in Ward 1, 3.2% in Ward 3, and 3.1% in Ward 4. Increases in water and wastewater rates have the effect of offsetting increases in expenses resulting from increases in the Consumer Price Index and providing for the required lifecycle reserves.
Approval by council is needed for a new watermain connect:
The total cost to install the watermain crossing as generally shown in Figure 1 is
$148,569.60 including applicable taxes. The approved 2021 Budget does not include any
allocation of funds for this project. Therefore, It is proposed that the immediate costs for
the installation be funded by Water Reserves. It is administrations intention to research potential cost recovery strategies for the full cost to install this watermain. Following this research, administration intends to bring a future
report to Council for consideration on the feasibility and potential options to recover these costs.
