High River residents will notice some rate increases in this year, but CFO Tom Maier says the changes are typical compared to past years. He says the average resident will be most impacted by the 5% increase in the water consumption rate and the 3% extra for sewer and recreation fees. Rates are reviewed by the town every year, and Maier says the increases help to keep the town's core components sustainable.

"It just allows us to be able to set aside money for future capital replacements, that we can reinvest in replacing water mains, upgrading our water treatment plant, our reservoir. Making sure that we have water and sewer and recreation facilities that we're maintaining."

Maier says a lot of communities have fallen behind maintaining their facilities. He says if we have money to keep facilities running 20, 30, or 50 years longer, the money will save us all dollars in the long run. He says increases on water and sewer rates will likely affect residents the most.

"The average resident would probably be impacted by fees such as increase in utilities fees. So, generally some of the water charges for water consumption are going up by 5%, the sewer charges are going up by 3%. Those will be the biggest ones that the average home or business owner would see."

He says even with the increases, the town's water prices are far below those of the average community.

"We compare our utility rates to 50 other communities. We update those numbers each year. Using last year's numbers, our water rate is around $0.87 per cubic meter for water consumption, where the average of the other communities is $1.58. So we're well below what the average water price is."

Maier says the town will be doing a more comprehensive rate review over the next 2-5 years, to make sure they maintain sustainable core components like water and sewer systems.

Here is a list of the changes that will be made:
Operational Services: Given that there have not been increases to inspection and GIS fees in 4-5 years, administration is proposing those set out in Schedule "A".

Community Services: On January 27, 2016, the High River Recreation Board reviewed and approved recommending a 3% increase for all facility rentals which represents inflationary costs. In addition, the George Lane Park Campground has been added as this contract was executed with the Lion's Club in 2015 and the rates included under this heading are those as proposed by the Lion's Club.

Safety Codes: No changes to the rates.

Development Services: Increases to development services reflect the fact that some of the rates have not increased in 10 years. The proposed changes in Business License fees reflect the fact that some of these fees have not been increased in over 30 years.

Legislative Services & Admin: Proposed increase in photocopies, Town pins, and Town flags to reflect the true cost of producing the same.

Protection Services: Increases in animal license fees and impound fees as these have not increased in 6 years.

Utility Rates: Administration recognizes that the Town's water consumption rates are considerably lower than other communities and the rates need to reflect a larger increase rather than simply inflationary costs. A comprehensive rate review will occur in 2016.

A full list of the proposed changes can be found in the Feb 22 agenda on the Town of High River's website.