Public Notice

Proposed Amendments to the City of Toronto Municipal Code for Increases to the Water and Wastewater Consumption Rates and Certain Water and Wastewater Service Fees and the Introduction of a New Bulk Water Fee

Notice is hereby given that City officials are recommending to Toronto City Council the enactment of a by-law, effective April 1, 2019, amending the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, and any other necessary Municipal Code Chapters as may be required, to:

increase the water and wastewater consumption rates for metered and flat rate consumers;
increase certain proposed water and wastewater service fees; and,
to establish a new bulk water fee, based on the Block 1 Rate, for the supply and delivery of water at a City-owned and operated bulk water fill station.

As shown in Appendix A, available at: http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2019/bu/bgrd/backgroundfile-123889.pdf, the recommended increases in the water and wastewater consumption rates for metered and flat rate consumers, effective April 1, 2019, are as follows:

for metered consumers, the Block 1 Rate and the Block 2 Rate by 3.98%; and
for flat rate consumers, all rates by 3.98%.

The proposed increases to water and wastewater service fees, as well as the recommended new bulk water fee, effective April 1, 2019, are shown in Appendix B, available at: http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2019/bu/bgrd/backgroundfile-123890.pdf.

City officials are not recommending any other changes to any of the other water and wastewater rates and service fees outlined in the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 441, Fees and Charges.

The particulars of the proposed water and wastewater consumption rates and service fee increases, as well as the proposed new bulk water fee, are set out in the report to the Budget Committee of Toronto City Council from the Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer and the Acting General Manager, Toronto Water entitled "2019 Water and Wastewater Consumption Rates and Service Fees " (the "Report").

The Toronto Water Division of the City of Toronto provides water and wastewater (WWW) services to the consumers within the City, areas in Peel (wastewater services) and York Region (water services). The City operates an extensive WWW infrastructure to deliver clean water for consumption and to treat wastewater before it is returned to Lake Ontario. The Toronto Water 2019 Operating and Capital Budget requires a combined water and wastewater expenditure level of $1.331 billion, which is fully funded from the 2019 water and wastewater consumption rates and service fees. The proposed water and wastewater consumption rate increases will ensure that the appropriate funding is available to the City for the continued provision of these water and wastewater services. The water and wastewater service fee increases reflect the increased costs of providing those specific services. The recommended new bulk water fee reflects the cost of providing that service.

The Budget Committee has established two subcommittees to hear public deputations on the 2019 Capital and Operating Budgets. The Budget Subcommittee for City Hall, and North York Civic Centre Consultation and the Budget Subcommittee for Scarborough Civic Centre and Etobicoke Civic Centre Consultation will receive presentations from any person, or their counsel, agent or solicitor, who wishes to speak to the matter at one of the following meetings:

City Hall, Committee Room 1, 100 Queen Street West

February 7, 2019

Session 1 - 9:30 a.m.

Session 2 - 6:00 p.m.

Scarborough Civic Centre, Council Chamber, 150 Borough Drive

February 7, 2019

Session 1 - 3:00 p.m.

Session 2 - 6:00 p.m.

Etobicoke Civic Centre, Council Chamber, 399 The West Mall

February 11, 2019

Session 1 – 3:00 p.m.

Session 2 – 6:00 p.m.

North York Civic Centre, Council Chamber, 5100 Yonge Street

February 11, 2019

Session 1 – 3:00 p.m.

Session 2 – 6:00 p.m.

To make a presentation at one of the Budget Subcommittee meetings on February 7 or 11, 2019, please email buc@toronto.ca or call 416-392-4666 no later than 12:00 p.m. February 6, 2019. Presentations will be limited to 5 minutes per person, unless the Committee decides otherwise. Written comments may be submitted to the Budget Committee, by email buc@toronto.ca, by fax 416-392-2980 or by mail addressed to:

Budget Committee
Toronto City Hall
100 Queen Street West, 10th Floor, West Tower
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2

Any comments received after the Committee meetings will be forwarded to City Council.

The Budget Committee will make its final recommendations on February 20, 2019, which will be forwarded for consideration by the Executive Committee at its meeting on March 4, 2019 and then to City Council at its meeting on March 7, 2019.

While the Report sets out the recommended rates and fee increases and the proposed new bulk water fee, the appropriate Committee may change these recommendations.

Further, Toronto City Council may adopt rates and fees that differ from the recommendations, including rates and fees that are higher or lower than the rates and fees set out in the Report, changes to rates and fees for which no change is recommended, and may adopt additional new rates or fees.

The adopted rates and fees will be implemented through a by-law that will amend the Municipal Code.

For further information concerning the Report, the proposed rates and fee increases and the proposed new bulk water fee, please contact Boriana Varleva, Senior Financial Analyst, Financial Strategies & Policy, Corporate Finance, 5^th Floor, East Tower, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5H 2N2, Telephone: 416-392-4949; Email: boriana.varleva@toronto.ca

To view a copy of the Report, please visit www.toronto.ca/council.

Further information:

If this matter is postponed at the Committee meeting or Council meeting or considered at a subsequent Committee meeting, no additional notice will be provided other than the information on the subsequent Committee or Council agenda. Please contact the above noted City official if you require notice in these cases.

Notice to people writing, or making presentations to the Budget Committee:

The City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the City of Toronto Municipal Code authorize the City of Toronto to collect any personal information in your communication or presentation to City Council or its committees. The City collects this information to enable it to make informed decisions on the relevant issue(s). If you are submitting letters, faxes, e-mails, presentations or other communications to the City, you should be aware that your name and the fact that you communicated with the City will become part of the public record and will appear on the City’s website. The City will also make your communication and any personal information in it - such as your postal address, telephone number or e-mail address - available to the public, unless you expressly request the City to remove it.

Many Committee, Board, and Advisory Body meetings are broadcast live over the internet for the public to view. If you speak at the meeting you will appear in the video broadcast. Video broadcasts are archived and continue to be publicly available.

If you want to learn more about why and how the City collects your information, write to the City Clerk's Office, City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Toronto ON M5H 2N2 or by calling 416-392-4666.

Closed Meeting Requirements: If the Committee wants to meet in closed session (privately), a Committee member must make a motion to do so and give the reason why the Committee has to meet privately (City of Toronto Act, 2006).

Dated at the City of Toronto this 28 day of January, 2019.

Ulli S. Watkiss
City Clerk