Homeowners in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam may want to gird themselves for sticker shock as their annual utility bills that were sent out Feb. 26 arrive in the mail.
While some in Port Moody are expressing dismay at the boost to their bill, which is due Feb. 28.
Municipalities across Metro Vancouver are hitting homeowners with a special surcharge or increase to sewer rates to help pay their share of the new North Shore wastewater treatment plant that is currently under construction and $2.8 billion over budget.
For Port Moody residents, that’s meant an additional $95 on their bill if they live in a single detached home, $90 for a townhome and $61 for an apartment.
One homeowner who contacted the Tri-City News said the increase was “enormous” and unexpected.
“This is highway robbery and must stop,” they said in an email.
Coquitlam said it is using money from the city’s contingency fund to soften the blow of a 20 per cent hike to the sewer and drainage portion of its utility charges to 16 per cent, of which 10 per cent will go toward the wastewater treatment plant project. That amounts to an additional $76.
Port Coquitlam homeowners will see a 30.98 per cent — $122.61 — increase to the sewer and drainage portion of their utility bill.
According to Metro Vancouver, the new wastewater treatment plant will help improve the quality of wastewater released into Burrard Inlet, better control odours and be more resilient to future rises in sea levels as well as more robust to withstand an earthquake. It will also add capacity to serve the region’s growing population. Construction began in 2018 and it’s expected to be completed in 2030, five years after originally anticipated.
Port Moody homeowners who don’t pay their utility bill by tomorrow, face a five per cent penalty with another five per cent added after March 31.
Utility bills in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam are due March 31 with late payments incurring a five per cent penalty and an additional five per cent for Port Coquitlam residents who still haven’t paid by June 2.
— with files from Janis Cleugh, Tri-City News
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