The City is currently developing the 2022 Annual Budget and Draft 2022-2026 Financial Plan. A significant part of this development has included the review of current and projected Utility Rates (i.e. annual water, sewer and solid waste/yard & garden fees) in conjunction with the City’s current Asset Management Investment Plan (AMIP).
In November 2018, the City completed a comprehensive report entitled Water and Sewer: Trends, Outlooks and Restructured Rate Model. This report provided current key information on water production, consumption, water trend analysis, water/sewer rate comparisons, wastewater treatment regional sewer utility flow analysis, water restriction information and financial forecasts in relation to the City’s current AMIP. The Report indicated that the City would need to look at restructuring and increasing current Water and Sewer User Fees in order to continue to provide a similar level of service to the community. Additionally, in 2019, the City completed a Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Services Review Since. Both undertakings provided updated information to ensure annual utility rate structures remain fair, transparent, and sustainable.
Beginning on January 1st, 2022, citizens of Rossland will see increases in their utility bills in accordance with Bylaw 2746 (Water Rate Bylaw 2021-2023), Bylaw 2747 (Sewer Rate Bylaw 2021-2023) and Bylaw 2730 (Residential Solid Waste & Yard and Garden Waste Rates Bylaw 2020-2025). These multi-year rate plans were previously adopted and established in such a manner to give ratepayers multi-year certainty over their individual utility bills.
In addition to above, the City is also shifting from monthly to quarterly billing statements starting July 1ˢᵗ, 2022. We’ve received ongoing feedback from ratepayers that the current practice is confusing, which, coupled with several other reasons, have prompted the city to make changes.
These planned increases are consistent with Council’s current Strategic Goal of increasing rates and/or user fees by reasonable amounts to move towards more transparent and self- supporting utility services with greater emphasis on user pay.
For further information on these upcoming changes, please feel free to contact either City Hall or the Finance Department (for billing enquiries) at 250-362-7396.
City of Rossland
QUICK TIPS TO SAVE MONEY AND TIME WHEN IT COMES TO UTILITY BILLINGS
1. Sign up for electronic billing and save $1/ month – Did you know that you can save $1 a month by receiving your utility bills via email? To sign up for eBilling, and avoid the paper billing fee, please contact the Finance Department by sending us a quick note via email to finance@rossland.ca. Please put “eBilling” in the subject and let us know your 14-digit utility account # (found in the top-left corner of your utility bill) and street address in the body of the email. Close to 70% of Rosslanders are currently using this service.
2. Sign up for Pre-Authorized Payments – Did you know you can sign up for pre-authorized payments for your utility bills and property taxes? Almost 40% of Rosslanders are currently taking advantage of this service to save money on postage and cheques by making payments automatically. Visit utilities@rossland.ca for more details.
REMEMBER TO KEEP AN EYE ON WATER! Keen to better understand your water usage and be alerted in the event of a potentially costly leak? Based on City-wide data, we average over 100 leaks detected per month. We encourage you to join the over 130 Rosslanders using the EyeOnWater App, a technology that provides you real-time information from your water meter.
To sign up, head on over to www.eyeonwater.ca/signup to create an account today! To create your account, you will need to enter your postal code as V0G1Y0 (zeros, no spaces), and your utility billing account number as ###-########-### (3 digits, dash, 8 digits, dash, 3 digits). Your utility billing account number can be located on the top left of your monthly bill.
Questions about your utility bills? Please get in touch. Do you have a question about your meter reading or bill? Maybe you are having difficulty creating an account through EyeOnWater? Of perhaps you want to learn more about the City’s Leak Adjustment Policy. Our Team is happy to book a 20-minute site visit to have a look at your meter. Please feel free to be in touch via email finance@rossland.ca or phone 250.362.7396. We are here to serve you.
