A staggering increase to water and sewer rates in Bancroft is leaving its mark on the town.
The Bancroft Community Safety and Well-Being Committee says three homes in Bancroft had their water disconnected in 2017. This comes as the town increased rates by 53 per cent at the beginning of the year, which CAO Hazel Lambe says was the only real option for council. The rates went up to help pay off the town’s water and sewer deficit, which was $1.8-million at the beginning of the year, but also to meet the treatment plant’s current and future needs.
Of the three homes that were disconnected, two have since been reconnected. Neither had paid their water bills since being hooked up in the spring. The other was a tenant, who left the home they had been renting, leaving the landlord to foot the accumulated bill.
Lambe says the town reaches out to anyone with an overdue account. It gives them four months before doing so, and asks for payment or that they contact the town. She says there is a lengthy period of time before anyone is disconnected.
Hastings County Director of Community and Human Services Erin Rivers says anyone having trouble paying their bills can reach out to the county.
The number to contact Hastings County’s Intake Access Centre is 1-866-414-0300.
Councillor Bill Kilpatrick asked Rivers if these funds were one-time-only, or available on an ongoing basis. She says everyone is treated on a case-by-case basis.
Rivers says, if the county can’t help someone, they will be referred elsewhere.
Rivers also says the county has not seen a trend of Bancroft residents being unable to pay their water bills, and therefore cannot call this a crisis. However, North Hastings Community Trust Program Coordinator Jane Kali is calling it a crisis, saying people have to choose between food and water, and that many people are considering leaving town because of the rates.
Kali says, if rates go up another five per cent in 2018, it will only cause a snowball effect. The potential rate increase in the New Year still has to be discussed by Bancroft’s Water and Waste Water Committee in January before any final decisions are made.