We only have one item to discuss before going in-camera for this week’s meeting. I suspect this will be quite a bit quicker than our last few meetings.
Agenda highlights
Stormwater Rate Model Project
Admin is recommending that we cancel a project to review stormwater rates. This project started years before I was elected as an initiative to address the issue of land owners with a lot of permeable surfaces (like gardens/lawns) paying proportionally higher rates than those with impermeable surfaces (concrete parking lots, etc.) compared to useage. Water runs off impermeable surfaces into stormwater infrastructure at higher rates to surfaces where water is absorbed into and retained in the land, so the idea was to shift costs based on usage. This is an example of how residential tax rates/fees are impacted by subsidization.
When the actual data came back with specifics about allocation based on this system, residential customers generally saw 13% of costs shift to commercial properties but it was noted that some commercial properties would see sharp increases with the largest properties paying tens of thousands of dollars more. This was expected, but Council in 2018 decided to consider ways to soften the blow for commercial properties and the whole project was put on hold when the pandemic hit. Admin is recommending that we pause this project as it won’t bring in any additional revenue (if just shifts who pays) and implementation would take resources from other projects. If Council wants to go ahead with the change, it could be completed as soon as 2026 at a cost of $50,000, up from $30,000 had we done this a few years ago.
One of my concerns is that shelving this won’t encourage developers to choose permeable paving surfaces, which (very) long-term would reduce rates because of decreased demand, and could decrease risk as it relates to heavy rain events and other environmental factors.
This is a brief and incomplete overview of our meetings, with my personal comments sprinkled in - In no way are my opinions representative of the official direction of council or the City of St. Albert. Please let me know of any typos or errors. Members of the public can register to speak if they have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.