Wastewater Billing Model Review

As part of the 2023 budget Council approved a change to the way the Town of Grimsby will bill and collect funds required to sustain the Town’s wastewater collection system, with a portion of the funds continuing to be collected on the property tax bills as a wastewater tax rate and the remaining being billed on the water bill based on water usage. Prior to 2023, the Town’s wastewater collection system was funded fully on the property tax bills as a wastewater tax rate. Funds collected through the wastewater budget are used to pay for sewage treatment costs, routine maintenance programs, and long-term capital rehabilitation and replacement programs.

The 2023 wastewater rates were approved by council as part of the budget process, and consistent with previous years, the 2023 rates are effective May 1, 2023. The delay in the implementation of the wastewater rate will mean that the Town will not be able to collect the rate portion of the wastewater budget from January 1 – April 30, 2023. To accommodate this timing difference, the 2023 budget includes a one-time adjustment to how the wastewater program is funded to support the transition, with 100% of the program being from the tax levy from January 1 – April 30. This will result in 66.7% of the wastewater budget being funded from the tax levy and 33.3% being funded from user fees (wastewater rate); this will occur in 2023. Beginning in 2024, customers will be charged 50% of the cost from the property tax bill, with the remaining 50% being billed on the water bill based on water usage.

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