Water user fees will continually increase over the next five years, as stated in the City of Kimberley’s 2018-2022 Financial Plan.
Revenues collected through water user fees and grants are retained within the Water Fund. None of the property tax collection is used for Water related expenditures.
In December of 2017, Council adopted a bylaw which established the water user fee for a single family dwelling, increasing the fees by 2 per cent, or $0.78 per month over the 2017 fee.
The 2018 water user fees are $119.28 per quarter, or $39.76 per month.
The average annual life cycle investment of water infrastructure renewal is $1,661,250.
Adjustments to water user fees fund inflationary increases to Water Fund operating costs and increased contributions to capital reserves to allow for ongoing water infrastructure renewal.
Going forward, water user fees will continually increase just just over $0.80 each year until 2022.
The 2018-2022 Financial Plan proposes total capital investment in Water Fund projects of $4.7 million.
Water capital projects totalling $1 million are planned for 2018. These projects include the main replacement of the 200 block of Norton Avenue, a vactor and Jet rodding truck, pressure reducing station construction and completion, flow works monitoring system expansion, replacing a City truck, fire hydrant replacement and flow modulation meters in lower Chapman Camp.
The 2018-2022 Financial Plan also includes a number of reserve funded non-capital water projects. These are projects which don’t result in an assassin to capital assets such as repair and maintenance work or small equipment purchases.
In 2018, $45,500 is budgeted in the Water Fund under non-capital projects, the majority of which relates to reservoir maintenance.