LETTER: Is double billing the solution to suites?

I think it is important that everyone pay their fair share for water, sewer, and garbage pick-up.

I would like to comment on the recent move of the City of Mission to charge double utility fees for homes with secondary suites.

I think it is very important that everyone pay their fair share for water, sewer, and garbage pick-up, but I wonder if charging homeowners with secondary suites double is the answer.

A home with six occupants but with no secondary suite can end up using more of these resources than many homes with a suite but fewer occupants. Friends of mine (senior couple) have a suite with one occupant for a total of three people, and I live upstairs, while my son lives downstairs for a total of two.

Wouldn’t it be more fair if the fees were based on usage rather than on the presence of a secondary suite?

 

Debra De Silva

Mission

 

Mission City Record