Local Heart FM News
While Woodstock is facing the lowest water wastewater rate increases in the County, they still think it could be better.
Mayor Pat Sobeski brought forth a motion at City Council asking for support to remove the proposed $1.20 minimum Source Water Protection charge from bills as well as create a reserve fund to ensure all interest incurred by reserves stays in Woodstock.
Sobeski would also like to see a freeze on the 2015 and 16 water wastewater rates to keep the reserves at a minimum.
"Instead of Woodstock's reserves growing to almost $15 million by the end of 2016, Woodstock's reserves may only grow to $13 million. That access money in reserves stays in the pockets of people. You want to keep rates low it keeps the city competitive and a whole bunch a reasons, but right now we are building up more money in the savings account than is demonstrated to be necessary."
The Mayor tells Heart FM he isn't afraid of the reserves running out.
"Let's say for example, while we're talking that the Waste Water System burns down tomorrow, well now we have to pay for it. Not only do we pay for it with reserves, you've got debentures, you can go out and borrow money so we have lots of capacity to do that. I've often felt that with the reserve amounts the expectation is that Woodstock will only pay cash for something but other systems, they borrow money."
Sobeski sits on the Source Water Protection committee and says it's premature to be adding the minimum $1.20 fee to bills.
"The program hasn't been passed by the province yet and there is no business plan to put forward as to how this money would be used and it's basically a blank sheet of paper and I don't care who the department head is, no councillor should be supporting a blank cheque to a department."
While the motion received unanimous support, the City can only advise the County of their wishes with the final decision resting in the hands of the County.
A final report will be brought to the County October 23.
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