A recent agreement between West 麻豆精选 and FortisBC is not sitting well with a city councillor.
The agreement, announced on March 21, allows FortisBC to collect a 3.09 per cent fee, on behalf of the city, from natural gas customers. The city expects to receive about $570,000 per year from the deal.
The funds will help offset future tax increases by allocating them to things such as park land acquisition, recreation amenities, active transportation infrastructure, seniors鈥� housing, wildfire mitigation, and accessibility improvements.
At council鈥檚 March 25 meeting, Councillor Rick de Jong noted that the deal has been offered to councils three times over the years, and this is the first time it鈥檚 been accepted.
鈥淚t will surprise nobody at this table that I am disappointed and saddened that we鈥檝e done that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 do see this as very much the equivalent of a tax grab for our community."
de Jong added that average resident will not see enough value from the deal to justify the three per cent service fee being added to their Fortis bills.
He also criticized discussions on previous agreements that were held in-camera.
鈥淚 find this quite unfortunate,鈥� de Jong added. 鈥淧revious councils had found a way to wrestle with this and vote in a public meeting so our individual positions on this matter could be noted as a public record. I hope with my comments tonight, that those listening, will understand what my opinion is on this matter.鈥�
He said funds from the fee should be use to offset property taxes for core infrastructure projects, such as roads. Coun. Stephen John agreed, adding the funds should not be treated as general revenue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not for projects that we dream up and say, 鈥極h good, we have an extra $500,000, let鈥檚 figure out how we can frivolously spend this,鈥欌�� he said.
Mayor Gord Milsom pointed out that the monies will go to city services and initiatives.
鈥淚t will be up to future councils how they allocate it, be it towards to strategic initiatives or roads,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut in addition to the operating efficiencies, there will be this ongoing revenue stream which will benefit our community.鈥�.
The fee will appear as a separate line item on customers鈥� gas bills. FortisBC鈥檚 Manager, Community and Indigenous Relations, Shelly Martens, told council that the charge helps municipalities recover costs related to gas infrastructure. She added the increase to customers will be minimal.
鈥淥n my bill, on average, I鈥檓 only seeing a couple of extra dollars a month, and it varies throughout the year depending on what my consumption is,鈥� she said.
The agreement brings West 麻豆精选 in line with other Okanagan Valley communities that have had similar deals for decades. FortisBC says it will also help the company streamline operations, reduce customer wait times, and improve construction scheduling.
