(submitted photo/City of P.A.)

By Alison Sandstrom

Monthly billing

Last call for new water meter installation

Nov 26, 2019 | 2:00 PM

With 75 per cent of installations complete, the City of P.A. is asking residents who do not yet have a new water meter to get in touch.

“We have reached the point in the process where people are getting harder to reach,” Director of Finance Cheryl Tkachuk said in a media release.

“We want to offer a last call to the community to book their appointment before we move towards enforcement options.”

Of the more than 11,000 new meters that need to be installed, the city said 2,800 remain to be completed.

“Our contractor, Iconix, will be calling the remaining owners one-by-one and knocking on doors to try and get in touch with property owners,” Tkachuk said.

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According to the media release at least four attempts to will be made to contact property owners. After that, water could be shut off.

At a Thursday budget meeting, Tkachuk said the city plans to switch over to monthly billing in January, meaning residents could receive their first bill under the new system in February.

It is believed that monthly bills will be easier for consumers to pay, as opposed the current three-month billing cycle. The new meters also allow for more timely readings, leak detection and the ability to monitor usage through an online app.

Nearly $100,000 was budgeted for administrative fees associated with the new meters and monthly billing in the 2021 utility budget, $25,000 of which was for the increase in postage.

The city is asking those without an installation appointment to make one by Dec. 9.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom