More than 300 people attended an open house last week to learn more about water metering and the proposed billing options for the community.
The municipality has installed residential water meters and staff and council are working to determine a fair billing system so the meters can be used beginning early in 2014.
“We had a lot of questions. We had a lot of data,” said municipal planner Ian McIntosh.
He said many of the questions raised at the open house were about the two billing methods under consideration.
Both billing systems begin with a base rate for the service.
From there, rates are based on consumption. The initial water use is billed at a much lower rate than the rate charged for excess use.
McIntosh said municipal staff will now consider the comments received and may make adjustments to the billing structures as a result.
Mock bills, to show water consumption and the charges under a metered water system, will likely be sent out in early June and throughout the summer.
In October, another open house on water metering will be held.
“There are a lot of people in the community who have a lot of good ideas,” he said.
If the concerns can be addressed quickly after that open house, metering will likely be in place at the start of 2014.
