The piggy bank of a non-profit senior housing group is being flushed out by utility bills, says the group's spokesperson.
Water and sewer fees make up close to 10 per cent of the annual budget for the 70 housing units at the Squamish Manor and Cedars, said Laura Modray, the Squamish Senior Citizens Home Society's administrator. From 2008 to '12, the seniors' housing municipal utility bills increased by $11,500.
For the average single-family dwelling, which is the same classification as the seniors units, the utility bills equate to one per cent of the household's incomes. The average median Squamish household's income is $75,000 with the 2012 utility bill estimate at approximately $763.44.
That makes little sense when the residents living in the 327-square-foot apartments, all 55 years of age and older, use far less water than a family, Modray said.
The facility has shared laundry and the units are smaller than rooms in many hotels, Modray said. As such, she wants the district to re-examine the facility's single-family dwelling classification.
Most residents living in the apartments are on fixed incomes and legislation mandates rental rates can't be raised more than three per cent a year, she noted.
"The idea is we want to keep the rent affordable," Modray said.
Society's representative Bill Rempel presented the "discrepancy" to council on Tuesday (May 15). Previous pleas to past councils fell on deaf ears, but this time around Rempel said he hoped things would be different.
It is unfair to put small, usually single-occupancy units in the same class as family houses, he said, noting the increasing costs are now impacting residents.
"We are concerned we are going to have trouble doing some of our other maintenance items," Rempel said.
The district is in the process of updating its water and sewer-rate bylaws, Mayor Rob Kirkham said. He stopped short of promising the society's request will automatically be incorporated into the new bylaws. Part of the process will be public meetings, he said.
"This council will see a change in the bylaw and rates," Kirkham said, adding the new regulations are expected to be ready for next year's utility invoices in spring.
