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Gibsons council approves rate increases

Increases to the garbage and organics program as well as for water and sewer rates were finalized by Gibsons council at a March 2 regular council meeting as part of the 2021 budget process.
Gibsons Town Hall
Gibsons Town Hall.
Increases to the garbage and organics program as well as for water and sewer rates were finalized by Gibsons council at a March 2 regular council meeting as part of the 2021 budget process.

It will cost residents a further $8 for the garbage and organics collection program, for a total of $213 for the user fee.

Water and sewer rates increase by five per cent, totalling $888.83 for water and $672.34 for sewer. A five per cent increases is expected for several more years, according to staff, to achieve rate levels that will sustain service costs.

Councillors are expected adopt changes to the bylaws in the coming weeks.

Councillors also approved a recommendation that came from Mayor Bill Beamish to use $5,880 from the town’s COVID-19 Safe Restart funds to pay for its portion of $12,000 in the Gibsons and District Fire Protection budget for COVID-19-related sanitization costs for the Gibsons and District Fire Volunteer Department.

“One of the problems with these types of things is they end up becoming a base of taxation, and I’m not convinced everybody’s going to look closely enough next year and say, that was a COVID cost and we shouldn’t be including it,” said Beamish, explaining his rationale for using the funds rather than taxpayer money.