Belleville City Council is supporting a resolution by the Township of Pelee to make the provincial and federal governments aware that rural and small urban water and wastewater systems are financially unsustainable.
Mayor Neil Ellis says many municipalities can’t afford the necessary upgrades that many have to put into their systems to make them safe and accommodate for growth.
“Our wastewater plant, it’s no secret that it’s probably in our next 10 years of doing some type of overhaul. Today’s dollars as I believe it, well over, north of $125 to $130 million. So we’re gonna need money from other levels of government and I believe this is what this motion is asking for and that’s why I’d like to support it.”
Ellis says with the services being user-pay systems, the cost to taxpayers can be too great.
The resolution also calls to advocate to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association (ROMA) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to examine if the
unaffordability of water and wastewater system operational costs is systemic provincially and nationally.
unaffordability of water and wastewater system operational costs is systemic provincially and nationally.
A letter is being sent to Premier Doug Ford, several provincial and federal ministers, AMO, ROMA, FCM and all municipalities in Ontario.
