“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

So said Benjamin Franklin, and while not as catchy as Destiny Child’s Bills Bills Bills, Franklin was certainly correct, as Jasper residents were reminded last week when they opened their utility statements and just about keeled over after finding an (on average) 150 per cent hike in their water bills.  

Speaking of Bills, The Jasper Local spoke to the Municipality of Jasper’s CAO, Bill Given, on this subject—twice, in fact—because frankly, like the feeling I have when I watch a 2009 Destiny’s Child video, it’s confusing.

The crux of my confusion came from the number-crunching, including the way the municipality is setting and collecting Jasper’s water and sewer levies, in order to raise enough revenue to meet targets recommended in a 2017 asset inventory. The math is complex, but the concept (to me anyway), is clear enough. Here’s how I understand it: Our WWII-era infrastructure, inherited from Parks Canada more than two decades ago, requires big time investment now and into the future. Moreover, the public who uses it—residential and commercial taxpayers, in other words—are the ones who have to pony up. Fair enough. 

But is the new model fair? It’s arguably much more transparent. The old way of paying for broken pipes and repairs to the wastewater treatment plant and new fire hydrants and all the woodchips to remediate biosolids was to dip into revenues from property taxes. Now, with the new user-pay, CCC model, there is a direct link to the cost of the system and how those expenses are covered. 

The capital charge goes by meter-size, meaning commercial properties which typically have larger meters pay higher capital charges than residential properties. Makes sense. The consumption piece also makes sense. Being charged by how much you use is 100 per cent fair. In fact, for small volume users, like most residential properties, the consumption rate (which is tiered, and not a flat rate, despite what you may have read in a different newspaper) went down this billing cycle. You can’t say that part’s unfair. 

What some are arguing is unfair is the connection charge. They say that those with new buildings, which have more modern water/sewer connections, are being unfairly penalized. Looking at their water bills, the connection cost for these buildings is certainly steep. It’s in the thousands of dollars—not exactly peanuts, no matter what kind of car you drive or how many hotels you own. 

But although unpalatable, I don’t think the connection charge is unfair, if only because of this fact: when insurance companies see a two-inch water line and realize that a modern fire suppression system has a much better chance of saving a building and its contents in the event of tragedy, they can’t charge as much.

So cry me a two-inch connected river. The CCC model is fair. 

What is not fair is that we have this massive amount of infrastructure debt in the first place. 

Hindsight may be 20-20, but the fact that councils-past didn’t do a better job of putting money towards the pipes and connections and sewers (not to mention the mismanaged contract at the WWTP in the recent past) has put a heavy burden on the current generation of taxpayers. As a result of town managers, directors and councillors lacking both the tools to measure precisely, and the fortitude to invest responsibly, young families, retirees and maxed-out business owners are stuck with this water-logged albatross around their necks. 

I should say our necks. Because, like the popular children’s book says, Everyone Poops. When it comes down to it, that’s what this levy is about. No one told me at the time, but apparently the grown-up version of that book is Everyone Pays. Opting out of basic services is not an option. Yes, a $600 annual increase is going to hit hard for a family of six, or a retired couple, and so is a multi-thousand dollar increase for a commercial property owner and the tenants he or she passes those costs onto. 

But the wrong place to voice your concerns is at the municipality’s administration office. Leave that poor clerk alone. Instead, find a former (or current) councillor who accepted the 2017 asset management report and ask them why, when the recommendations were right there in front of them, didn’t they prepare better for Jasper’s future?

That question might not be fair. But then neither is your water bill.

It is, however, certain. 

Just like death and taxes. 

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com