REPORT
REPORT TO:
Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
June 7, 2010
SUBMITTED BY:
Grant Murphy, Director Engineering Services
PREPARED BY:
Grant Murphy, Director Engineering Services - 741-2410
WARD(S) INVOLVED:
All
DATE OF REPORT:
June 2, 2010
REPORT NO.:
DTS-10-120
SUBJECT:
STORMWATER RATE BY-LAW AND UTILITY
IMPLEMENTATION - ADDENDUM 2 TO DTS 10-094
REPORT
RECOMMENDATION:
1. That the ten (10) year capital and operating forecast for the stormwater
management program be approved as outlined in staff report DTS-10-094,
subject to revision through the annual budget process;
2. That the stormwater rate schedule as specified in Appendix B of staff report
DTS-10-094 be approved and come into effect on January 1, 2011;
3. That the by-law enacting the stormwater rate as specified in staff report DTS10-120 be approved as an amendment to the fees and charges by-law;
4. That a reduction in the following base budgets be implemented as of fiscal
2011 resulting from a shift to a stormwater utility model:
Tax supported operating budget of $7,099,228
Water utility of $256,677
Sanitary utility of $259,414
Gas utility of $278,184
5. That staff provide a report related to a stormwater rate credit policy for
Council’s consideration prior to January 1, 2012, with applicable credits being
retroactively applied to January 1, 2011;
6. That staff investigate the opportunities for a residential credit system to be put
in place for 2013;
7. That staff examine the feasibility of measuring the impervious area on nonresidential properties and report to Council prior to January 1, 2013 on the
viability of transitioning non-residential properties from the approved “tiered
flat fee” stormwater rate structure to a method where these properties are
charged according to their actual measured impervious area;
8. That staff work with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the
Waterloo Region District School Board, Waterloo Catholic District School
Board, the City of Waterloo and various Government of Ontario Ministries to
address the discrepancy between the Municipal Act and the Education Act,
regarding a municipality’s authority to apply stormwater rates to Boards of
Education properties;
9. That payment of the applicable stormwater rates would not be expected from
the Waterloo Region District School Board and the Waterloo Catholic District
School Board until 2012, pending resolution of the discrepancy between the
Municipal Act and the Education Act;
10. That places of worship and charitable organizations which own property
affected by the applicable stormwater rate, be provided an indefinite grant of
100%, contingent on the implementation of a stormwater or environmental
education program for their members or clients;
11. That one (1) engineering manager position (full-time), one (1) operations
supervisor (full-time), one (1) engineering project manager position (full-time),
and one (1) revenue analyst position (full-time) be hired beginning in June
2010 so as to enable the implementation of the stormwater utility and
advancing related stormwater projects; and further
12. That $100,000 be transferred from the Grand River Erosion Control project
(account numbers 11619 and 7367) and that $129,000 be transferred from the
Victoria Park Lake Environmental Assessment project (account numbers
52000039 and 207) into the Stormwater Utility Implementation Plan (account
number 701204027).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
On February 22nd, 2010, Council directed staff to present a stormwater rate and utility
implementation plan for consideration on or before May 31, 2010. DTS report 10-120 provides
updated recommendations, an updated by-law, and additional information about DTS10-094
and DTS 10-100 based on inquiries and concerns raised by public and members of the
Financial and Corporate Services Committee on May 17th 2010 related to the proposed
stormwater rate.
BACKGROUND:
In November 2004, Council directed staff to proceed with undertaking a Stormwater
Management Program and Funding Review Study (Study) collaboratively with the City of
Waterloo as part of the Shared Services Initiative. The purpose was to identify the City’s current
level of service, compare this to the legislated requirements and guidelines, develop a
suggested level of service, and to evaluate appropriate funding mechanisms to support the
stormwater program needs. The Study recommended that a utility structure and user rate
approach be implemented in order to fully fund stormwater management programming within
the City of Kitchener.
On February 22nd, 2010, Council directed staff to present a stormwater rate and utility
implementation plan and present recommendations for consideration on or before May 31,
2010. DTS10-094 report recommends that a stormwater rate structure be implemented on
January 1, 2011. The rate methodology provides for a fair and equitable approach allocating
costs associated with stormwater management to all property owners in the City of Kitchener.
This report provides additional details associated with the 10 year stormwater programming
capital and operating forecast, the proposed rate structure and updated recommendations.
REPORT:
DTS 10-120 provides additional information about DTS10-094 and DTS 10-100 based on
inquiries and concerns raised by public and members of the Financial and Corporate Services
Committee on May 17th 2010. Also included are updated recommendations and the enacting bylaw.
Questions and concerns are categorized into three (3) key topics:
1) Rate Structure and Methodology
2) Stormwater Rate Credit Policy
3) Stormwater Program - 10 Year Capital and Operating Forecast
Section 1 – Stormwater Rate Structure and Methodology
1. What is the financial impact on the average single detached residential property owner?
Property owners already pay for stormwater services on their tax bills, based on property value
rather than stormwater run-off contribution to the City’s system.
The proposed rate structure enables an approximate 17.9% shift in overall stormwater program
costs from residential users to the non-residential sector who would be paying their fair and
equitable share for stormwater services.
Under the tax levy approach and to fund the proposed $13M stormwater program in 2011, an
average single detached residential property owner ($225,000 property value) would pay the
equivalent of $140 per year for stormwater services.
Moving to the “tiered flat fee” stormwater rate model, average single detached residential
property owners would pay $126 per year for a reduction of $14 per year.
2. Can an additional rate tier be added to the residential category to take into account larger
size properties?
No. At this time, there is not a compelling technical argument to adjust three (3) residential
single detached tiers to four (4) residential single detached tiers. Staff suggest returning to this
matter in approximately two (2) years which would be coupled with a report on the residential
stormwater rate credit program.
Table 1 summarizes a rate structure that considers four (4) residential single detached tiers.
The previously recommended “Single Detached Large” category was split into two, adding a
“Single Detached Largest” category to reflect impervious area from the highest 5% of single
detached homes. By doing so, the 4th tier would be charged $25.50 per month for stormwater
services relative to $10.50, a factor of 2.5 times the charge for the “Single Detached Medium”
category (i.e., which represents 80% of all single detached homes in Kitchener).
Further, four (4) residential single detached tiers will introduce additional administration costs
and effort. Customer service representatives would address initial customer
complaints/questions related to residential tier assignments. However, for properties that are
close to the building footprint breakpoints, these queries will likely be directed to engineering for
confirmation. The 4th tier would result in a 50% increase in the number of breakpoints
compared to the recommended option of three (3) residential single detached tiers. As such
there would be a corresponding increase in the effort to confirm tier assignments.
Table 1 – Residential Single Detached Stormwater Charges – Four (4) Tier Option
Rate
Code
Description
Basis for Charge
5
6
Detached homes with building footprint
size of 105 m 2 or less
Detached homes with building footprint
Residential Single Detached Medium
size between 106-236 m 2
Detached homes with building footprint
Residential Single Detached Large
size of 237-280 m 2
Detached homes with building footprint
Residential Single Detached Largest
size of 281 m 2 or more
Residential Townhouse
Per property (per Tax Roll ID number)
Residential Condominium
Per property (per Tax Roll ID number)
7
Multi-Residential (2-5 Units)
Per building
8
Multi-Residential (>5 Units)
Per property (according to number of
dwelling units)
Non-Residential Smallest
Non-Residential Small
Non-Residential Medium-Low
Non-Residential Medium-High
Non-Residential Large
Non-Residential Largest
26 - 1,051 m 2 of impervious area
1,052 - 1,640 m 2 of impervious area
1,641 - 7,676 m 2 of impervious area
7,677 - 16,324 m 2 of impervious area
16,325 - 39,034 m 2 of impervious area
39,035 m 2 or greater of impervious area
1
2
3
4
9
10
11
12
13
14
Residential Single Detached Small
Number of
SFU
Dwelling Units Factor
Monthly Charge
1
per Property
Annual Charge
1
per Property
Number of
2
Customers
1
0.6
$6.00
$72
4,180
1
1.0
$10.20
$122
33,450
1
1.4
$14.40
$173
2,090
1
2.5
$25.50
$306
2,090
1
1
Duplex
Triplex
Four-plex
Five-plex
0.7
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
$7.20
$4.20
$8.10
$12.30
$16.20
$20.40
$86
$50
$97
$148
$194
$245
6,390
8,840
1,400
260
150
30
Charge = (# units) Charge = (# units)
0.2 × ($2.04/month)
× ($24.48/year)
See Note 3
See Note 3
1,190
varies
n/a
1.9
5.1
13.4
39.1
94.8
203.5
$19.50
$51.90
$136.80
$398.70
$966.90
$2,075.70
$234
$623
$1,642
$4,784
$11,603
$24,908
Notes:
1. Monthly stormwater rate charge per property to generate $11.56M/yr. Federal gas tax revenue contribution is $1.44M/yr.
Assumes 95% collection rate. All charges rounded to the nearest 30¢.
2. Approximate count as of May 5, 2010.
3. Example: 10-unit apt. = $20.40/mo ($244.80/yr); 25-unit apt. = $51.00/mo ($612.00/yr); 100-unit apt. = $204.00/mo ($2,448.00/yr).
4. Non-Residential tiers (Rate Codes 8-14) include both Taxable and Tax-Exempt properties.
5. Non-Residential properties with less than 26.0 sq. m. of impervious area are not charged.
2. Can the recommended level of stormwater program funding be reduced from $13M to $10M
annually? What would the stormwater rates look like?
No. It is not recommended that the stormwater management program be arbitrarily capped at
$10M per year. As mentioned in previous reports, stormwater-related works are subject to such
1,080
300
950
200
110
40
legislation as the Ontario Water Resources Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the
Federal Fisheries Act, and several guidelines published through the Ministry of Environment and
Ministry of Natural Resources. On October 5th, 2009, Council received the 2008 SWM audit
(DTS Report 09-131) for their consideration and adoption. The Audit identifies that more than
$120M of stormwater pond retrofits and watercourse capital works are necessary over the next
20 years in order to meet water quality targets. If the stormwater management program were
capped at $10M annually, then projects and activities would be deferred and the City would be
out of compliance with these regulations.
Additionally, projects in the next four (4) years of the accelerated infrastructure replacement
program represent the most urgent infrastructure work in the 10 year capital program (2011 to
2020). To defer these projects further would expose the City to additional risk, as these
represent very old and deteriorated infrastructure that needs replacement. In other words,
projects identified in the first few years of the capital forecast represent the “worst of the worst”.
Finally, if the stormwater management program were capped at $10M annually then the Victoria
Park Lake remediation would be deferred until 2020 or beyond.
If Council directs staff to reduce the budget forecast to $10M annually, instead of adopting the
$13M level of service, then the rate schedule would appear as in Table 2.
Table 2 –Stormwater Rate Schedule - $10M Annual Stormwater Program (2010)
Rate
Code
Description
Basis for Charge
1
Residential Single Detached Small
2
Residential Single Detached Medium
3
Residential Single Detached Large
4
5
Residential Townhouse
Residential Condominium
Detached homes with building footprint
size of 105 m2 or less
Detached homes with building footprint
size between 106-236 m2
Detached homes with building footprint
size of 237 m2 or more
Per property (per Tax Roll ID number)
Per property (per Tax Roll ID number)
6
Multi-Residential (2-5 Units)
Per building
7
Multi-Residential (>5 Units)
Per property (according to number of
dwelling units)
8
9
10
11
12
13
Non-Residential Smallest
Non-Residential Small
Non-Residential Medium-Low
Non-Residential Medium-High
Non-Residential Large
Non-Residential Largest
26 - 1,051 m2 of impervious area
1,052 - 1,640 m2 of impervious area
1,641 - 7,676 m2 of impervious area
7,677 - 16,324 m2 of impervious area
16,325 - 39,034 m2 of impervious area
39,035 m2 or greater of impervious area
Monthly Charge
per Property1
Annual Charge
per Property1
1
$4.80
$58
1
$7.80
$94
1
$10.20
$122
1
1
Duplex
Triplex
Four-plex
Five-plex
$5.40
$3.00
$6.30
$9.30
$12.60
$15.60
$65
$36
$76
$112
$151
$187
Number of
Dwelling Units
varies
n/a
Charge = (# units) Charge = (# units)
× ($1.56/month)
× ($18.72/year)
See Note 3
See Note 3
$14.70
$39.90
$104.40
$305.10
$739.50
$1,587.30
$176
$479
$1,253
$3,661
$8,874
$19,048
Notes:
1. Monthly stormwater rate charge per property to generate $8.56M/yr. Federal gas tax revenue contribution is $1.44M/yr.
Assumes 95% collection rate. All charges rounded to the nearest 30¢.
2. Approximate count as of May 5, 2010.
3. Example: 10-unit apt. = $15.60/mo ($187/yr); 25-unit apt. = $39.00/mo ($468/yr); 100-unit apt. = $156.00/mo ($1872/yr).
4. Non-Residential tiers (Rate Codes 8-13) include Taxable and Tax-exempt properties.
5. Non-Residential properties with less than 26.0 sq. m. of impervious area are not charged.
In summary, staff’s recommendation remains the same in that the sustainable level of service of
$13.0M (2010) should be adopted by the City and that the rate structure supporting this service
level recommended in DTS10-094 be adopted by Council.
3. Can the the stormwater program service level be ramped up over multiple years from current
to sustainable levels? How would the stormwater rates be affected?
No. As mentioned above, the sustainable level of service of $13.0M (2010) should be adopted
by the City immediately. This service level would accommodate the proposed remediation and
upstream stormwater management works, identified in the Victoria Park Lake Class EA Study
Report, starting in 2011. Phasing of the service level would only extend the timing associated
with any of the project priorities. This is a critical consideration for Council before deciding upon
phasing of stormwater rates.
However, two examples of a phased implementation are provided which take into account a
gradual increase in funding from the current service level to the sustainable service level over
three (Table 3) and four year time period (Table 4).
Table 3 – Three (3) Year Phase-in of Annual Stormwater Program
2011
Rate
Code
Description
Basis for Charge
2012
per Property)
1
Residential Single Detached Small
2
Residential Single Detached Medium
3
Residential Single Detached Large
4
5
Residential Townhouse
Residential Condominium
Detached homes with building footprint
size of 105 m2 or less
Detached homes with building footprint
size between 106-236 m2
Detached homes with building footprint
size of 237 m2 or more
Per property (per Tax Roll ID number)
Per property (per Tax Roll ID number)
6
Multi-Residential (2-5 Units)
Per building
7
Multi-Residential (>5 Units)
Per property (according to number of
dwelling units)
8
9
10
11
12
13
Non-Residential Smallest
Non-Residential Small
Non-Residential Medium-Low
Non-Residential Medium-High
Non-Residential Large
Non-Residential Largest
26 - 1,051 m2 of impervious area
1,052 - 1,640 m2 of impervious area
1,641 - 7,676 m2 of impervious area
7,677 - 16,324 m2 of impervious area
16,325 - 39,034 m2 of impervious area
39,035 m2 or greater of impervious area
2013
$9.8M SWM
$11.4M SWM
$13.0M SWM
Annual Program Annual Program Annual Program
(Monthly Charge
(Monthly Charge
(Monthly Charge
per Property)
per Property)
$
4.50
$
5.40
$
6.30
$
7.50
$
9.00
$
10.50
9.90
5.40
3.00
6.00
9.00
12.00
15.00
Charge = (#
units) ×
($1.50/month)
$
14.40
$
38.40
$
100.50
$
293.40
$
711.00
$
1,526.40
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
11.70
6.30
3.60
7.20
10.80
14.40
18.00
Charge = (#
units) ×
($1.80/month)
$
17.10
$
45.90
$
120.60
$
351.90
$
853.20
$
1,831.50
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
13.80
7.50
4.20
8.40
12.60
16.80
21.00
Charge = (#
units) ×
($2.10/month)
$
20.10
$
53.70
$
140.70
$
410.70
$
995.40
$
2,136.90
Table 4 – Four (4) Year Phase-in of Annual Stormwater Program
2011
Rate
Code
Description
Basis for Charge
2012
per Property)
1
Residential Single Detached Small
2
Residential Single Detached Medium
3
Residential Single Detached Large
4
5
Residential Townhouse
Residential Condominium
Detached homes with building footprint
size of 105 m2 or less
Detached homes with building footprint
size between 106-236 m2
Detached homes with building footprint
size of 237 m2 or more
Per property (per Tax Roll ID number)
Per property (per Tax Roll ID number)
6
Multi-Residential (2-5 Units)
Per building
7
Multi-Residential (>5 Units)
Per property (according to number of
dwelling units)
8
9
10
11
12
13
Non-Residential Smallest
Non-Residential Small
Non-Residential Medium-Low
Non-Residential Medium-High
Non-Residential Large
Non-Residential Largest
26 - 1,051 m2 of impervious area
1,052 - 1,640 m2 of impervious area
1,641 - 7,676 m2 of impervious area
7,677 - 16,324 m2 of impervious area
16,325 - 39,034 m2 of impervious area
39,035 m2 or greater of impervious area
2013
2014
$9.8M SWM
$10.87M SWM
$11.93M SWM
$13.0M SWM
Annual Program Annual Program Annual Program Annual Program
(Monthly Charge
(Monthly Charge
(Monthly Charge
(Monthly Charge
per Property)
per Property)
per Property)
$
4.50
$
5.10
$
5.70
$
6.30
$
7.50
$
8.40
$
9.30
$
10.50
9.90
5.40
3.00
6.00
9.00
12.00
15.00
Charge = (#
units) ×
($1.50/month)
$
14.40
$
38.40
$
100.50
$
293.40
$
711.00
$
1,526.40
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
10.80
6.00
3.30
6.60
10.20
13.50
16.80
Charge = (#
units) ×
($1.68/month)
$
15.90
$
42.90
$
112.50
$
328.50
$
796.20
$
1,709.40
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
12.00
6.60
3.60
7.50
11.10
15.00
18.60
Charge = (#
units) ×
($1.86/month)
$
17.70
$
47.40
$
124.50
$
363.60
$
881.70
$
1,892.70
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
13.80
7.50
4.20
8.40
12.60
16.80
21.00
Charge = (#
units) ×
($2.10/month)
$
20.10
$
53.70
$
140.70
$
410.70
$
995.40
$
2,136.90
Section 2 - Stormwater Rate Credit Policy
1. Can staff examine the feasibility of a stormwater rate credit policy?
Yes, staff will report on a stormwater rate credit policy to Council on or before January 1, 2012
and further Council has directed staff to consider the following:

That staff examine the feasibility of measuring impervious area on all non-residential
properties in order to provide an exact accounting of the amount of impervious area for
this property type.

That a credit system be put in place for non-residential properties for 2012 and be
retroactive to January 1, 2011 when the stormwater rate is anticipated to come into
effect.

That staff investigate the opportunities for a residential credit system to be put in place
for 2013.

That for circumstances, similar to those of Conestoga College (Doon Campus), where
runoff is controlled and managed on-site and does not discharge into the City’s
infrastructure for even the 100-year design storm event, that staff investigate the
possibility of providing a credit greater then the proposed 50%.
Staff will need to carry out additional work to fully develop the credit policy manual and will take
into account the abovementioned considerations as directed by Council. Staff would review
options to related a residential stormwater rate credit program and present information about the
costs of establishing the policy and associated benefits.
2. Can a grant program be implemented for “places of worship” and charitable organizations?
Yes. Council has directed staff to provide grants for “places of worship” and charitable
organizations, which own property. The grants would represent 100% of the stormwater rate
charges contingent on the implementation of a stormwater or environmental education program
for their members or clients.
In previous reports, staff have not recommended a stormwater charge exemption exclusively for
the “places of worship” or charitable organizations, as this would not be fair to other property
owners in different rate categories. From staff’s perspective, this does not promote good
environmental stewardship by “places of worship” or charitable organizations and would be
viewed as subsidizing certain users within a specific rate category, making the rate structure
susceptible to legal challenges by other users.
However, in order to implement Council’s direction on this matter, the following steps are
suggested by staff in order to mitigate the above mentioned risks:

the “places of worship” and charitable organizations would be able to access a stormwater
rate grant program funded by the tax levy;

it is assumed that about $260,000 in revenue (2011) is generated from the “places of
worship” and charitable organizations and would be allocated from the tax levy ;

a staff report be presented to Council, identifying a policy related to stormwater rate grant
program for “places of worship” and charitable organizations;

the full stormwater rate according to the approved rate schedule on January 1, 2011 (or as
amended in the future) would be calculated for “places of worship” and charitable
organization properties, accounted for, and reported to Council, on an annual basis;

the abovementioned grant program is distinct from a stormwater charge credit policy funded
by the stormwater rate base and applicable to eligible non-residential property owners who
install stormwater facilities or apply stormwater best management practices.
Section 3 - Stormwater Program - 10 Year Capital and Operating Forecast
1. Are the proposed staff positions needed for the stormwater management program?
Yes. During 2010, resources will required to be deployed in order to advance the delivery of
certain components of the 2011 stormwater management program. The City of Kitchener
current stormwater management (SWM) program consists of four general components —
operation and maintenance, environmental compliance, capital improvement projects, and
planning and management. Currently this workload is being borne by existing staff who are
already over-extended and the situation is no longer sustainable.
The engineering manager position will provide oversight of the stormwater program
implementation activities, development of supporting policies and business practices, and
reporting to Council as needed. This position will provide oversight of the Victoria Park Lake
remediation project in order to begin construction in 2011. This position would develop a
business plan to coordinate stormwater management and wastewater services that are currently
spread across multiple departments.
The operations supervisor position will carry out operation and maintenance programs, facility
monitoring and environmental compliance activities; including the development and delivery of
scheduled preventive maintenance programs. This position would direct and coordinate
operations staff in the delivery of stormwater management programming.
The engineering project manager position will complete stormwater pond retrofits for water
quality improvements and other infrastructure stimulus funded projects. Tasks will include
detailed design, tender document preparation, construction and commissioning of new facilities.
The project manager would complete the Victoria Park Lake remediation, reconfiguration of the
lake, sediment forebay construction and upstream modifications, in order to begin construction
in 2011.
The revenue analyst position will conduct revenue and collections business functions including
rate payer liaison, coordinate the stormwater rate credit policy, and public communications in
order to ensure that the stormwater billing is implemented on January 1, 2011. This position will
also take on some general responsibilities which will be shifted from the billing, collection and
customer service areas to ensure those areas have capacity to address the increased workload
associated with the new stormwater rate.
2. What is the difference between the current service level and the sustainable service level for
the stormwater program 10 year capital and operating forecast?
As per direction from Council, the ten (10) year capital and operating forecast for the stormwater
management program has been updated to reflect current program costs as the original study
was based on 2007 program information.
The details of the proposed Operation and Maintenance, Environmental Compliance, Capital
Improvement Projects, and General program areas of the 10 year operating and capital forecast
reference should be made to DTS10-094 and DTS10-100 for more information. The updated
program cost of $13M includes inflationary adjustments, refined construction cost estimates not
originally considered in the 2007 Feasibility Study, and the reallocation of existing administrative
and support service overheads.
The current service level estimate was initially revised from $5.8M to $8.9M annually to reflect
up to date budgets. Through refinements to calculations, the current service level has been
finalized at $9.8M and the proposed sustainable service level has been maintained at $13.0M,
resulting in an ultimate service level increase of $3.2 million.
The adjustment to the current service level of $0.9M since the previous report relates to the fact
that initial calculations reflected a 2010 tax-supported cost for the stormwater portion of the
accelerated infrastructure replacement program, while a more precise calculation takes into
consideration the average cost over the ten-year capital forecast, which is a higher value. This
change will reduce the net impact of the implementation on taxpayers and have no impact on
exempt properties.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
As stated in DTS report 10-094 and DTS 10-100
COMMUNICATIONS:
School Boards
Both the Waterloo Region District School Board and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board
have raised concerns as to a municipality’s authority to apply stormwater rates to their
properties. On May 26th 2010, staff from the City of Kitchener and City of Waterloo met with staff
from both Boards to discuss concerns around the conflict between the Municipal Act and the
Education Act.
During this meeting it was agreed that staff will continue to work with the Association of
Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the Waterloo Region District School Board, Waterloo Catholic
District School Board, the City of Waterloo, and various Government of Ontario Ministries to
address the discrepancy between the Municipal Act and the Education Act regarding a
municipality’s authority to apply stormwater rates to Board of Education properties.
Pending the resolution of this matter, payment of the applicable stormwater rates would not be
expected from the Waterloo Region District School Board and the Waterloo Catholic District School
Board until 2012.
Following this meeting, the Waterloo Region District School Board, the passed following
resolutions were approved on May 31st at their Board meeting:
"That the Waterloo Region District School Board support the municipalities of the City of
Kitchener and the City of Waterloo in their attempt to have the AMO (Association of
Municipalities of Ontario) seek legislative clarification for the interpretation of the
Education Act and the Municipal Act as they pertain to the levying of storm water
charges; and,
That the Waterloo Region District School Board formally request a resolution of the issue
from the provincial government through the Ministry of Education."
That the Waterloo Region District School Board and the Waterloo Catholic District
School Board send a letter, jointly developed by the Chairs of both Boards, to Region of
Waterloo MPP’s outlining the Boards’ concerns regarding the storm water management
tax that certain municipalities plan to apply to boards of education which are property tax
exempt; and,
That the Waterloo Region District School Board send an Op Ed Article to the Opinion
section of the Record, outlining its concerns regarding the storm water tax, with this
article being jointly developed and submitted by the Chairs of both Boards provided that
the Waterloo Catholic District School Board supports this action; and,
That the Waterloo Region District School Board communicate its concerns regarding the
storm water management tax to other public boards of education in Ontario; and,
That information outlining the Waterloo Region District School Board’s concerns
regarding the storm water management tax be posted on the Board’s website."
In the case of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, the following resolutions were
approved:
“That the Board of Trustees direct staff not to pay any invoices related to storm water
management utility fees,
That the Board of Trustees formally ask the Minister of Education to resolve the
inconsistencies between Section 58 of the Education Act and subsection 391 (5) of the
Municipal Act, 2001, which is Part XII of the Municipal Act, 2001, and to confirm which of
the Acts prevails regarding the question of charges imposed by municipalities associated
with Storm Water Management”.
CONCLUSION:
The purpose of the Stormwater Management Program and Funding Review Study has
demonstrated and concluded that an equitable and defendable rate structure for stormwater is
feasible.
It is proposed that the stormwater rate by-law and its accompanying rate schedule be adopted
such that the applicable stormwater rate can be applied to all City of Kitchener property owners
starting on January 1, 2011.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Jeff Willmer, General Manager, Development and Technical
Services
List of Attachments:
ENACTING STORMWATER CHARGE BY-LAW AND RATE STRUCTURE