At last night’s PUC Board of Directors meeting the Board received updates on a number of areas including, the Annual Dividend and Interest Payment to the Shareholder, and new water rates for 2018.
Staff presented the Board with a recommendation to approve a total payment of $2,545,000 in Interest and Dividend payments to the PUC’s sole shareholder – the City of Sault Ste. Marie. The total payment for 2017 comprises of $610,080 in Dividends and $1,934,920 in Interest payments. Since 2001, the City has received a total of $42,220,000 in non-tax revenue from its ownership of PUC.
During the meeting, staff also provided the Board with an update on the financial plan for the water distribution system. In 2012, PUC developed a ten-year financial plan that would gradually see water rates increased to the point that could support the level of investment needed in the distribution system.
Customers may recall that the financial plan included planned rate increases of 10% for 2016, 10% for 2017, and a 5% increase for 2018. However, in 2016 recognizing the condition of the local economy, PUC amended the plan and did not increase water rates for residential and small business customers. In 2017, PUC further revised the plan and reduced the rate increase to 9%.
However, with the increasing amount of planned capital investments needed to replace ageing infrastructure, the Board approved staff’s recommendation to proceed with the planned 5% increase in water rates. The approved rate change will result in a $1.73 increase to the average residential customer’s monthly water bill (14m3). Combined with the Municipal sewage charge the total bill increase for 2018 is $2.80.
This is why ppl go live off the grid
Someone is continuously in our pockets…this is getting sickening…when does/will it stop???
Glad I’m on a well and septic.
And to boot brown water sometimes wow
How did Mayor Provenzano and Councillor Christian vote?
pay more for shitty smelly water OHHH YAY US!!! WHAT A BUNCH OF IDIOTS
so… when does it stop? Will it just keep going up and up… making it harder and harder for familys to survive.
This is the reason people struggle.
Yipee for the minimum wage hike. Everything has inflated to compensate.
Great job government. Where’s Gail Vaz Oxalade when you need her.
Maybe we should drop all wages 10 percent. You figure prices will go down??
REFUSE TO PAY …AND WHEN THEY CUT IT OFF ….WAIT FOR THEM TO LEAVE …..ND TURN IT BACK ON
Really? Bullshit!
Why not pay more for the terrible smelling and tasting water that comes out of my tap on Lorna Drive. Time for a whole home filtration system on the city. Have to love what change does sometimes.
we had to install one … city won’t pay you gotta do it on your own dime!
should be a class action suit against the city…all the bottled water we have had to purchase and extra water usage trying to run the water long enough for the smell to go away
Thats extra…
If the prices go up, then the quality of the water should as well.
They think because the people got tired of complaining (on deaf ears) that the water is fine, even though we all continue to buy bottled water because we can’t stand the smell or taste of the swimming pool water coming from our taps. To this day my dog will still not drink the tap water as he used to all the time, couldn’t get enough of it, before this disaster.
So very sad what they did to our once wonderful water.
Someone has to pay for their new Taj Mahal, did anyone think for a second that it wouldn’t be us?
If prices continue to go up each year, why do some job positions have such high paying salaries if they can’t control costs or keep rates locked? Some job positions seem pointless with computer technology anyway.
P.o.s.
just once I would to see it go down its getting harder to live in this city each day
They gunna charge us to breathe in air soon to ? Smh
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