SUNDRE — A decision on whether to refund the annual Gas Alberta rebate to utility users or allocate the funds into a restricted surplus came down to one vote.
Providing background, Chris Albert, the Town of Sundre's director of corporate services, told council the rebate, which the municipality has been receiving for several years, was worth about $15,350.
“In previous years, council has decided to refund that money to the utility users,” said Albert during the regular Nov. 9 teleconference meeting.
Having crunched the numbers, he said the average household would get back about $7.
“Of course this would be different for individual households based on their usage. But that’s just kind of the average.”
Following up on a question submitted by a member of council prior to the meeting with regards to how much local facilities or institutions would receive, Albert said Mountain View Seniors’ Housing would receive about a $70 refund, the Myron Thompson Health Centre about $350, and various churches roughly $25. Those calculations were determined based on November 2019 usage rates, he explained.
Administration, he added, recommended the one-time rebate be applied on users’ accounts.
Coun. Rob Wolfe moved that council direct administration to transfer the Gas Alberta rebate back into the gas department’s life-cycling restricted surplus account.
“The $7 is negligible on a refund on a bill. I think it would be better used for future projects,” said Wolfe.
Coun. Cheri Funke agreed, and said $7 on one single monthly bill is not an amount most residents would even notice. Additionally, she said utility users like the hospital and the seniors facility already budget for their monthly expenses and don’t pay property taxes that contribute back to maintaining and upgrading the municipality’s infrastructure.
“So, I support this motion for that reason,” Funke said.
Speaking against the motion, Coun. Richard Warnock said while he recognizes the rebate represents a token amount, that giving a little something back to residents is always nice.
“It just shows that we are not taking their money and keeping it forever — we’re giving back where we can,” said Warnock, adding it’s also the approach council has taken in the past.
Mayor Terry Leslie echoed a similar sentiment to Warnock, and called a vote on the motion.
The motion carried with Warnock, Leslie and Coun. Paul Isaac opposed, and Wolfe, Funke, Coun. Todd Dalke and Coun. Charlene Preston in favour.
