Olds town council ratified the South Red Deer Regional Wastewater Commission's revised business plan on Aug. 26, giving the commission an increased debt limit for carrying out the connection of a wastewater line from Olds to a treatment plant in Red Deer.
Dale Withage, chief administrative officer of the SRDRWC, told council that although the wastewater rate that users would be paying— $1.70 per cubic metre — hasn't changed since last year, the provincial government has revised its commitment to funding the project.
Earlier this year, the provincial government announced that because of budget concerns, it would not be funding 90 per cent of the project's estimated $141.1- million cost as it had previously agreed to. After much lobbying from the SRDRWC's board of directors, the provincial government has now agreed to reinstate its 90 per cent funding commitment, but over a three-year period, beginning in 2013-14. As a result, the SRDRWC was asking municipalities to agree to raising the commission's debt limit, as the commission would have to pay more of the construction costs in each of the next three years before receiving the government's yearly allocation.
The provincial government has agreed to pay interest on money the commission must borrow as a result of the province stretching out its funding commitment.
Norm McInnis, the town's chief administrative officer, said the change in the way the funding from the provincial government will be handed out won't have much of a financial impact on the commission or its member-municipalities in terms of their ability to carry the new debt load.
“Everybody's been very good at working together to mitigate the impacts on the end user. This was just everyone coming to the table to find a solution that made sense,” he said.
Bowden council also approved the commission's request for an increased debt limit on Aug. 12.
