(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Utility concerns

Council votes down motion to suspend water shut-offs

Oct 14, 2020 | 8:31 AM

Prince Albert city council has voted down a motion that would have extended a temporary reprieve for properties with unpaid water bills.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Prince Albert suspended water shut-offs for accounts in arrears from March until September 30 as part of a package of pandemic relief measures passed in the spring.

At Monday night’s meeting, with shut-offs set to resume imminently, Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp moved a motion that would have kept the taps on at homes with unpaid bills until the provincial state of emergency due to the pandemic was lifted.

“There are people, children, families that once water gets shut off, they keep living in that home,” she told the meeting. “In a pandemic… we count on all of the other members of our community to be able to wash their hands, to be able to be hygienic to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

Lennox-Zepp acknowledged the City had well over $1 million dollars of unpaid water bills, but suggested they could collect on them by putting the unpaid bills onto property taxes. Council debated and decided against this idea earlier this year.

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A September city report shows Prince Albert accumulated around $150,000 worth of bad debt due to suspending water shut-offs during the spring and summer.

Speaking during Monday’s meeting, Mayor Greg Dionne said they could not afford to continue to keep the taps on at delinquent properties.

“It’s just proven that it’s just too costly,” he said. “We cannot afford, and I will not ask the taxpayers to subsidize bad accounts.”

Director of financial services Cheryl Tkachuck told council the 92 properties owing $800 or more will be the first tagged for shut-off beginning this week. Some of those accounts owe well over $1,000.

Account holders who agree upon a payment plan with the city will not have their access to water discontinued. Water will only be shut off to properties as a last resort after repeated failed attempts to get in contact with residents to set up a payment plan, Tkachuck repeated.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom