Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Tall Forehead
Here's hoping they pass the zoning and SP amendments but the City's really going to need to get the NE sewage treatment plant expansion going if we want to see any real densification take place in the next decade. Only 4-6 years capacity remaining is bonkers!
How is it possible that so many administrations dropped the ball on this file over the years?!?
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A couple of reasons I'd throw out there:
1. The City grew really fast in 2023 and likely in 2024, and this jump in population beyond what we would normally expect has eaten up some portion of capacity. Imagine the city getting 5 to 6 year's worth of typical population growth in 2 years - this would reduce the buffer room of available capacity at the NE sewage plant quickly.
2. While our water/sewer rates are low to middle of the pack for major Canadian cities, the annual bill for the typical household is approaching the average municipal property tax bill. In the past, Council has used utility dividends to delay (inevitable) property tax increases because water rate increases are more politically palatable. This eats into the utility's ability to service debt payments when $30M to $40M is shuffled over to the city's general revenue fund. The utility dividend is roughly equivalent to a 6% property tax increase, with the flip side being a water/sewer bill that's about 11% higher than it otherwise would be.
3. If Winnipeggers have to solely fund treatment plant upgrades, water and sewer rates would need to effectively double over night to service the required long-term debt. No politician wants to sign their name next to that. So, instead they beg the Province and Feds to kick in some cash. Which brings me to my next point:
4. Previous conservative provincial government wasn't on good terms with the previous Council, so negotiating for money for this project was more difficult.
5. Construction inflation has been crazy since COVID, which has substantially pushed up the price of this project. It's also very specialized. We're not just moving mud or pouring concrete to build a road here, this is a very niche project with specific requirements. We don't just plop this type of technology and infrastructure down every day in Canada, so equipment, tools, consultants, etc., are all very specialized for a project of this scope.
However, I am in general agreement that this city has insufficiently planned its infrastructure and required revenue streams for overall economic and population growth because the political mentality of decision makers seems to still be firmly rooted in the 1990s, when Winnipeg wasn't growing and high property taxes made Winnipeg feel uncompetitive. Things have changed, but politics hasn't. So now municipal politicians have resorted to begging other levels of government for even more money (spoiler alert: there is only one taxpayer, us) instead of using the existing set of revenue tools because begging gets you reelected but more taxes doesn't.
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