The City of Hamilton is examining the possibility of new relief or rebate programs to help low-income residents amidst a surge in the number of unpaid water bills.
Senior policy advisor John Savoie says such arrears have soared in Hamilton in recent years, reaching 20,000 accounts last year with total unpaid amounts hitting $4.4 million.
“Unpaid after 60 days, it gets transferred to the property’s tax roll,” said Savoie. “We have seen over the last five years or so, the number and the value of those tax roll transfers have more than doubled.”
Savoie added that 90 per cent of last year’s unpaid water bills were residential.
The surge also comes at a time of scheduled 10 per cent rate hikes for water and wastewater, which are expected to continue through 2032, to pay for upgrades to Hamilton’s aging system, the need for which has been highlighted by a series of sewage leaks in recent years.
“That will essentially double that annual water bill for that average residential consumer,” said Savioe, citing a new rate of nearly $2,100 from $877 previously.
A chart presented to the general issues committee on Wednesday showed water bill delinquency rates were highest in wards 3 and 4, which have some of the lowest average household incomes in Hamilton.
To that end, Savoie said staff will review possible rebate programs and bring a report before politicians ahead of 2024 budget deliberations.