Unneighbourly

Council sends file back to staff, seeks legal advice

Awater deal with a neighbour to the north has been referred back to staff to seek legal advice, after an amending motion was put forward by Councillor Ernie Margetson. The City of Belleville had counter-offered with a 10 per cent discount on either a 10-year or two- to-three year term. County staff had recommended that council approve the draft agreement with the 10-year term as a two- to three-year term would coincide with the end of the City of Belleville’s bulk water agreement with the City of Quinte West and negotiating at the same time would be unfavourable. Staff also wanted to ensure a good relationship was kept between the two neighbouring municipalities.

Currently Belleville sells water to its residents at a cost of $1.86 per cubic metre, and bulk water for $2.42 per cubic metre to anyone who shows up, whether they are from Toronto, Montreal or Florida. The County, however, pays its neighbours $4.34 per cubic metre for the same water. The County is charged a 79 per cent premium for Belleville bulk water—a premium charged to no one else. Last year, the bill was $430,986 for Belleville water, or about $183,000 more than any other bulk customer who drew as much water from the Belleville system. Since 2006, the County has paid the City of Belleville over $4.9 million in bulk water purchases for just 435 homes. However, water users in Rossmore and Fenwood Gardens don’t pay Belleville’s inflated rate. They pay $2.84 per cubic metre, just as other water users in the County do. The overcharge is shared by all waterworks users. Meanwhile down the road, the County buys water from Quinte West to serve Carrying Place and Consecon at a rate of $1.26 per cubic metre—much less than the rate charged by Belleville.

The County owns and manages the entire water distribution from the outlet pipe at the foot of Sidney Street in Belleville including a 4-kilometre pipe under the Bay of Quinte throughout the communities of Rossmore and Fenwood Gardens. But the water bills came from the City of Belleville until 2006. At that time, the County renegotiated a new agreement with Belleville with the aim of gaining control of the billing and maintenance of these customers. Belleville officials, however, had no incentive to change the agreement. In return for control of the customers they would increase the bulk rate. Even though their workload became less. In 2006, the County signed a new agreement with a term of 14 years, which expired in December of 2020. In December 2020, an extension until March 31, 2021 was signed and executed.

County staff were seeking a substantial reduction in the bulk water rate to bring it more in line with other bulk water purchasers in Belleville— more specifically, $1.92 for the first 455 cubic metres and $1.43 per cubic metre for the next 22,275 cubic metres. A 10-year deal will also be proposed instead of a 14-year deal as in the past. Belleville counter-offered with a 10 per cent discount, and either a two- to three-year term or 10- year term.“We got this extension as a result of Belleville’s participation and very much appreciate it,” said Mayor Steve Ferguson. But for some council members, it just wasn’t enough.“They didn’t give us much of a reduction. Can we not take it for a shorter time frame. Ten per cent is really nothing, and over a 10-year period, I think it should be a lot less,” said Councillor Brad Nieman, who then asked why there was not more back and forth discussion between the two parties.

County CAO Marcia Wallace explained that Belleville staff had taken the County’s request to Belleville council, who in turn directed its staff to work with the County. “We were given a counter-offer which was 10 per cent with two different time frames. One that coincided with the Quinte West time frame—in terms of when that agreement was due to expire—and the other was 10 years. I would recommend the 10 years, because I don’t think it is a good idea for both agreements to expire at the same time,” said Wallace. The County’s current deal with Quinte West would be set to expire at the same time as this deal. If both agreements were to expire at the same time, staff feared it would put the County in a precarious position.

Margetson commended staff for the effort, but wanted to make sure the deal worked for the residents of the County. “Based on the long-term implications and the importance of this agreement to this municipality and the water rates of our residents, I would like to make an amending motion to refer this back to staff to seek legal advice to ensure this agreement is in the best interest of the municipality,” he said.

The amending motion passed, and the file has been sent back to staff.