Households to pay 3.5 per cent more to Metro Vancouver in 2022
Cheryl Chan
The Vancouver Sun
Metro Vancouver households will pay an average annual fee of $595 to the regional authority — a $21 increase from last year’s rates.
Construction on the North Shore wastewater treatment plant has stalled and a large portion of the work force laid off. Photo by Francis Georgian /PNG
Metro Vancouver households will be paying 3.5 per cent more to the regional district that oversees their water supply and sewage system.
According to its 2022 annual budget approved Friday, a household will pay an average annual fee of $595 to the regional authority — a $21 increase over last year’s fees, but $17 less than previously forecast.
“This year, we were able to make significant budget reductions and keep the 2022 increase below the rate of inflation by deferring discretionary capital investment and using a variety of financial tools,” said Metro Vancouver commissioner Jerry Dobrovolny in a statement.
The 2022 budget will have an operating budget of $1.017 billion and $1.38 billion in capital expenditures.
Metro Vancouver said it wanted to minimize the impact of this year’s budget on ratepayers still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A larger increase, however, is projected over the next five years. According to Metro’s 2022 to 2026 financial plan, the yearly rate is expected to increase from $595 next year to $952 by 2026.
Metro Vancouver, which serves 21 local municipalities in the Lower Mainland, has several major and costly projects in the pipeline.
Some of its largest expenditures include the expansion of the Northwest Langley wastewater treatment plant and a new treatment facility on Iona Island in Richmond, which is expected to cost more than $10 billion by the time it is operational in 2034.
Metro is also building a new $1-billion wastewater treatment plant in North Vancouver. The project has been plagued by delays, cost overruns, and a dispute with former builder Acciona Canada, which Metro Vancouver sacked earlier this month.
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