December 2 Council Notes: Water, Sewer, Garbage, and Other Fee Changes

As I noted last week, Langley City Council is going through our 2025 Financial Plan and budget process. Part of that process includes setting the water, sewer, and garbage utility rates for 2025. Last night Council gave first, second, and third reading to approve the 2025 water, sewer, and garbage rates in principle. Final approval will occur at the next Council meeting.

The City charges for water per cubic metre (1,000 litres). To cover the increased cost of providing water, the City is proposing to increase the water rate by 10 cents per cubic metre to $1.89 per cubic metre.

For the average detached homeowner in Langley City, it works out to a $33.00 or 5% increase for an annual total of $698.70. For the average attached homeowner, it works out to a $19.00 or 4.6% increase over the 2024 rate for an annual total of $434.10.

The City is also increasing the charge for sewer by 45 cents per cubic metre or 23.7% compared to 2024 for a new rate of $2.27 per cubic metre. 17.6% of this increase is due to the tripling of costs related to the Metro Vancouver Regional District North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant, which has been in focus due to cost overruns, construction, and contract issues.

As I posted earlier, our 10-year-old contract with Emterra to provide garbage and organics collection ends this year, so Langley City needed to sign a new contract. This new contract means a significant increase in the collection fee, though the new fee and level of service are comparable to other municipalities in the South of Fraser. Langley City provides garbage and organics collection services to detached homes and very small townhouse complexes. If you receive this City service, your rate will increase by $120 or 44.3% compared to last year to $391.

Langley City Council also approved in principle other fee increases related to business licensing, building permits, and land use planning. You can see the complete list of changes on Langley City's website. I will note that the business licensing fees are increasing by 2%.