Town utility fees for the average Cochrane home will increase by $6.80 per month starting in March. 

The increases were approved in the town's 2022 budget, but their implementation was delayed to provide additional notice to residents.

Katherine Van Keimpema, the town's Corporate Service executive director, says this is the first year the increase has been delayed. Historically, town council approved the budget in December, and the rates went up on Jan. 1.

"What we found was not conducive to making sure that we had given people enough time to know that this was coming because not everyone pays close attention to the budget discussions," says Van Keimpema.

Notice of the increases was provided on January and February utility bills.

Van Keimpema says the impact does vary from household to household, depending upon usage, but typically residents will see a $6.80 monthly increase (or $81.60 annually).

Nearly half of the increase is due to higher waste/recycling/organics collection costs.

She says typical a household doesn't use more than 15 cubic metres of water each month, but there are some exceptions. That consumption determines the charges for water, wastewater, and sewage.

"I've introduced a consumption fee rather than a flat fee to encourage people to look at ways to be more conservative in water usage."

The town does offer tips on how to conserve water here.

The storm sewer fees, the waste and recycling fees, and the eco centre fees are flat monthly charges that don't vary from household to household unless they have additional waste collection needs.

Town utility bills support the costs associated with water and wastewater services, waste and recycling collection, and the operation of the Cochrane Eco Centre facility.

She explains the town's utility department is self-funded and doesn't receive support from property taxes, and vice versa.

"When we do our budgeting each year, we calculate the cost of providing those utility services, and then we calculate what rates we need to generate sufficient revenue just to cover the cost of providing services and replace infrastructure."

Those costs include contract costs, materials, supplies, labour, and a portion reserved for future infrastructure maintenance.

A full breakdown of both the 2021 and  2022 rates can be found here.