CKL REFUNDS WATER BILL

By Kirk Winter

On February 4, 2020 at the Committee of the Whole, City of Kawartha Lakes Council voted unanimously to refund a Woodville resident the entirety of his $7,300 water bill for a period covering June to August of 2019.

Brian Henry, a retired Metro Toronto police officer and youth worker, made a respectful and well-crafted presentation to Council regarding the shockingly high water bill he had been received at the end of the first billing cycle after buying the abandoned Presbyterian church in Woodville. The property had once included the neighbouring manse, but it had been severed for the sale and the water meter was located in the basement of the manse. After occupying the property for only three months, CKL billed Mr. Henry $7,300 claiming his newly opened community drop-in centre had consumed almost a million litres of water in approximately 90 days.

Upon receipt of the bill, Mr. Henry took action. He accessed the manse to discover that the water meter there was working correctly, but that the line coming in from the street had developed a significant leak and was pooling less than a foot under the surface of the manse side lawn.

Henry reported the situation to the City. They responded in a timely manner, providing a new hook-up and meter, free of charge, to be located in the church so this incident would not happen again. The City also repaired the broken main leading into the manse at no charge.

To accommodate the new waterline and meter, Henry did almost $6,000 worth of renovations out of his own pocket, and was not looking for CKL help to deal with those bills. When he inquired what the City could do about a water bill for which he was clearly not responsible, the initial City response was that staff could discount the bill by $1,500 but if he was interested in a larger refund Henry would need to take the matter up with Council.

This brought Henry to Council, and his deputation sparked a sharp exchange between Councillor Dunn, Mayor Letham and staff over whose responsibility it was to consider water bills that were clearly incorrect. Councillor Dunn reminded all in attendance that “it was the job of the High Water Bill Committee to hear cases like this, not Council.” Dunn also pointed out that “despite the talk of disbanding the High Water Bill Committee, the City decided not to and issues like Mr. Henry’s bill should be dealt with there.” Mayor Letham argued that the Committee of the Whole was the best place for Mr. Henry to be, supported by staff.

Councillor Dunn asked that separate from Mr. Henry’s deputation the “entire issue of high water bill appeals be reconsidered by Council as to who has ultimate jurisdiction over approving the refund.”

For the first time in recent memory, Mayor Letham supported a high water bill adjustment saying, “This is why we have a policy. The property owner is not at fault. The owner is out of pocket thousands of dollars. It is valid to waive the fee back to zero this one time only.”

Councillors Elmslie and O’Reilly, who had been asking difficult questions of Mr. Henry regarding his predicament, came around and supported Councillor Yeo’s motion that the entire $7,300 (minus what had already been authorized refunded by City staff) be returned to Mr. Henry.

Council, as a whole, seemed impressed by the positive impact his presence in Woodville was already having on the community and wished Mr. Henry well.