Water And Wastewater Rates Will Rise

ReleasePublished Courtesy of Barrie360.com: Dec 7th, 2023

from The City of Barrie

Following several amendments to the proposed 2024 Business Plan and Budget, Council has approved the City’s portion of the 2024 Budget. City Council froze spending on the City’s Operating Budget for the second year, while continuing the contribution of 2 per cent for the Infrastructure Investment Funding levy. The funding is used to replace and renew roads, stormwater infrastructure and buildings.

“We know residents are continuing to face significant financial pressures heading into 2024. Council and staff worked hard to deliver a budget that focuses on affordability while maintaining the services our community needs and investing in infrastructure to support our growing city,” says Mayor Alex Nuttall.

Some highlights in the budget include:

• New road construction including Bryne Drive South (Harvie to North of Caplan); Duckworth Street (Bell Farm to St. Vincent); and Bayview Drive New Transmission Watermain and Road expansion (Little Avenue to Big Bay Point Road).
• Construction of the new Allandale and Downtown Transit Mobility Hubs
• Construction of Fire Station 6
• Hewitt’s Community Centre New Building Development – property acquisition
• Resources to transition the City of Barrie’s blue box collection to the producers and implement the City’s new waste collection contract (effective May 2024)
• Increased pruning, fertilizing, and watering for the City’s 35,000+ street trees
• Funding for a new splashpad at Heritage Park
• Paving of Painswick Park parking lot
• As part of the 2023 budget, Council approved an annual 2 per cent contribution for the City’s Infrastructure Investment Funding (IIF) levy through to 2025. The IIF allows the City to fix more infrastructure while significantly reducing debt and saving residents millions of dollars. The 2024 investment translates to an additional $94.36 annually for an average Barrie home.

Council also approved a 3.97 per cent increase to water rates and a 4.94 per cent increase to wastewater rates. For a typical Barrie home consuming 180 cubic metres of water annually, the water bill will increase to $404 and the wastewater bill will increase to $587.