A final tally of calls and emails about large increases to utility bills has come in and it’s a lot more larger than the “way over 200 calls” initially estimated by Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) staff (“SCRD inundated with calls about water bills,” Coast Reporter, May 8.)
According to a quarterly infrastructure services report from July 16, “staff received approximately 800 phone calls and emails from residents regarding the utility bill they received for 2020.”
The outpouring began in April, shortly after bills were mailed out to 10,500 households that showed the results of a January decision by SCRD directors to increase Regional Water service rates to $410.85 from $287.31. Rates also climbed significantly for North and South Pender water system users.
Staff had requested the increase because of a flaw in how the money has historically been divvied up to pay for water infrastructure.
Following the outcry, chair Lori Pratt acknowledged, “that we need to do better to communicate, especially in the current situation of COVID-19.”
In May, directors voted to extend the due date for utilities from June 15 to September 30.
