DocumentsOtherMar 4, 2019Pages 157–166
IN CAMERA RESOLUTION and ADJOURNMENT (meeting closing items)
Final procedural items including the in-camera motion and formal adjournment of the March 4, 2019 meeting.
Key facts
- In-camera resolution to consider confidential matters under Community Charter sections
- Adjournment recorded to close the meeting
IN CAMERA RESOLUTION and ADJOURNMENT (meeting closing items)
Preferred Financial Institution
The City has established a preferred financial institution for recommendation to property owners. Provided that the City agrees that any property owner that requests financing from the City must first pursue financing from TD Canada Trust, the bank has offered a program in which the property owner will receive their loan at an interest rate that is 1% less than they would have obtained should they have applied with TD Canada Trust prior to the bank being selected as the Preferred Lender. Loans obtained through this program will have a 7-year amortization period. The property owner would have to qualify independently through the regular loan approval process with TD Canada Trust.
City of Langford option
Given an overarching philosophy, that assistance through the City must only be for a true hardship the following program is presented for Council consideration:
- Amend Bylaw 1600 to incorporate the terms of the system outlined below including the delegation of the authority to approve an applicant be delegated to one municipal officer.
- If property owner is the principal resident (confirmed by an active Home Owner Grant application) and has a household income is below the Low Income Threshold Cut-off (LICO) as published by Stats Canada + $5000, they can apply to the City and if it is confirmed that they qualify they may be approved and exempt from paying the fees and connection for 5 years and then they would have to apply to opt into the ten year program outlined in #3 below.
- If the property owner is the principal resident (confirmed by an active Home Owner Grant application) and the owner’s household income is between the LICO + $5000 and double the poverty line, and they have received a rejection letter from the City’s preferred lender, TD Canada Trust, they may apply to the City for financial assistance under which the City will pay the SCRF and sewer connection fee to WSES and then collect from the property owner plus interest at Prime+2% over a 10 year period.
- If the owner’s household income is more than double the LICO or they do not reside in the property (they do not claim a home owner grant) – they are not eligible for the City option of financial assistance and will have to either obtain their own independent financing or financing through WSES or the Preferred lender.
Recently replaced septic systems
In recognition of the out of pocket expense faced by a property owner to replace their septic system, for owners that have recently replaced their septic system, it is proposed that Council authorize a program in which, upon proof of replacement of their septic system through Island Health documentation, a property owner may defer payment of the SCRF/PCF fees and their connection to the sewer system until their septic system is five years old.
Summary of proposed program
The program that is proposed takes into consideration a number of important factors.
- Mandatory connection should not cause a true financial hardship on a property owner.
- The City cannot borrow to fund this program, as such funds will come from current City reserve funds.
- As the installment charges are regulatory charges under section 194 of the Community Charter in relation to a service of the municipality they would also qualify under section 258 that fees for services provided to land and improvements and thus the tax recovery remedy would be available, thus ensuring that the City is able to recover the balance that has been paid up front to WSES.
Financial Implications
The City cannot borrow to finance this program, so it would have to be funded from Operating Fund Surplus and the General Amenity Reserve. This will limit the amount that is available for the City’s option. The Operating Fund Surplus at December 31, 2017 was $4.5 million and General Amenity Fund was $4.62 million. It would not be prudent to allocate all available funds from either source to the financing program.
In the event that a property owner living in their residence as a primary residence, with an income less than double the LICO, does not qualify for a loan through the preferred financial institution, TD Canada Trust, and can provide evidence to that fact, the City’s direct involvement option may be used. While this would mean the City still faces some financial burden, recommending that they first approach the preferred institution and lastly the City will lessen the amount that the City has to pay to WSES and then collect through installments for the next 10 years, thus ensuring that funds are available for the property owners with a true financial hardship.
Legal Implications
The financial program proposed has been reviewed and prepared in conjunction with the City solicitors to ensure the program assists property owners facing true financial hardship while also ensuring the City is secure and guaranteed to recover the money paid.
Options
That Council:
- Give Sewer Utility Bylaw No. 1600, 2016 Amendment Bylaw No. 1835, 2019 First, Second and Third Reading.
OR
- Direct staff not to implement a Sewer Financial Assistance Program.
Respectfully submitted,
Submitted by:
- Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance
Concurrence:
- Matthew Baldwin, MCIP, RPP Director of Planning
Concurrence:
- Michelle Mahovlich, P.Eng, P.Geo, Director of Engineering
Concurrence:
- Braden Hutchins, Director of Corporate Services
Concurrence
- Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer
CITY OF LANGFORD
BYLAW NO. 1835
A bylaw to amend Sewer Utility Bylaw No. 1600, 2016
WHEREAS Sewer Utility Bylaw No. 1600, 2016 provides that, in specified circumstances, the obligation under the bylaw to connect a parcel to the sanitary sewer system may be deferred so long as the parcel is connected within 5 years of completion of the parcel’s sewage treatment system;
AND WHEREAS the City also wishes to provide an option whereby an owner of a parcel who is required by Sewer Utility Bylaw No. 1600, 2016 to connect the owner’s parcel to the sanitary sewer system and to pay certain charges to West Shore Environment Services Inc. as a condition of doing so may apply to demonstrate financial need and to have the City pay those charges to West Shore Environmental Services Inc. on the owner’s behalf, with the City recovering the amount so paid, with interest, by way of the imposition by the City under section 194 of the Community Charter of annual charges for a period of 10 years.
NOW THEREFORE the Council of the City of Langford, in open meeting assembled, enacts as follows:
This Bylaw may be cited as Sewer Utility Bylaw No. 1600, 2016 Amendment Bylaw No. 1835, 2019.
Sewer Utility Bylaw No. 1600, 2016 is amended by: (a) adding to section 1 the following definition: Prime Rate means the rate of interest declared from time to time by the main branch in of the Bank of Montreal in Vancouver, British Columbia as the annual rate of interest used by such bank as its reference rate in setting interest rates for commercial loans of Canadian dollars in Canada and commonly referred to by such bank as its “prime rate.”;
(b) adding to section 1 the following definition:
LICO means the low-income threshold cut-off as published by Statistics Canada
(c) inserting into section 28 the words “sewer connection fee” before the words “an incremental storage and improvement fee” and after the words “sewer capital recovery fee”;
(d) in Part 4 of the bylaw after section 32 adding the following as sections 33 through 41 and renumbering the current sections of the bylaw accordingly and making appropriate revisions to the section references in the text of the bylaw:
The owners of a Sewer Serviced Parcel that is required under this bylaw to be connected to the sanitary sewer main may make an application to the City in the form attached to this bylaw as Schedule C requesting that they be exempt from paying the fees and exempt from connecting to the sewer main for a period of 5 years. An application under this section must be made no more than 6 months and no less than 1 month before the date on which the connection to the sanitary sewer main is to be made and must be signed by all registered owners of the parcel.
The Director of Finance shall approve an application under section 33 if the Director is satisfied that the Sewer Serviced Parcel is the owners primary residence, and that the household income, including rental income, is below the LICO plus $5,000. For this purpose, the Director of Finance may require the owners to provide such evidence as the Director considers necessary in his or her sole discretion to make that determination.
If an exemption under section 33 is approved, after the five-year exemption period the owners may reapply under section 36.
The owners of a Sewer Serviced Parcel that is required under this bylaw to be connected to a sanitary sewer main may make an application to the City in the form attached to this bylaw as Schedule D requesting that the City pay to West Shore in respect of the parcel the sewer capital recovery fees or sewer connection fees, or both, payable to West Shore upon connection of the parcel to the sanitary sewer main. An application under this section must be made no more than 6 months and no less than 1 month before the date on which the connection to the sanitary sewer main is to be made and must be signed by all registered owners of the parcel.
The Director of Finance shall approve an application under section 36 if the Director is satisfied that: a. TD Canada Trust is unwilling to provide to the owners of the Sewer Serviced Parcel a secured or unsecured loan in the amount of the fees to which the owners’ application under section 36relates; and, b. the Sewer Serviced Parcel is the primary residence of the owner, and that the household income, including rental income, is between the LICO plus $5,000 and double the LICO.
For this purpose, the Director of Finance may require the owners to provide such evidence as the Director considers necessary in his or her sole discretion to make that determination.
No owner of a parcel identified in the Sewer Capital Recovery Fee Bylaw No. 1100, 2007 may make an application under section 33 or 36.
Where the Director of Finance approves an application pursuant to section 37 to have the City pay sewer capital recovery fees in respect of a parcel to West Shore, then, after the City pays those fees to West Shore, sewer capital recovery instalment fees payable to the City in the following amounts are imposed on the owners of the Sewer Serviced Parcel for each of the 10 years beginning in the year the City pays the sewer capital recovery fees to West Shore: (a) 1/10th of the sewer capital recovery fee paid by the City to West Shore, plus (b) simple interest equal to 2% in excess of the Prime Rate as of January 1 of each year that the sewer capital recovery instalment fee is payable calculated on the amount equal to the sewer capital recovery fee paid by the City to West Shore less the cumulative amount of money paid by the owners to the City under paragraph (a), with that interest calculated from the date of connection of such parcel to the sanitary sewer main to December 31 of the year in which the sewer capital recovery instalment fee is payable.
Where the Director of Finance approves an application pursuant to section 37 to have the City pay sewer connection fees in respect of a Sewer Serviced Parcel to West Shore, then, after the City pays those fees to West Shore, a sewer connection instalment fee payable to the City in the following amount is imposed on the owners of the parcel for each of the 10 years beginning with the year the City pays the sewer connection fees to West Shore: (a) 1/10th of the sewer connection fees paid by the City to West Shore, plus (b) simple interest equal to 2% in excess of the Prime Rate as of January 1 of each year that the sewer connection instalment fee is payable calculated on the amount equal to the sewer connection fee paid by the City to West Shore less the cumulative amount of money paid by the owners to the City under paragraph (a) with that interest calculated from the date of connection of such parcel to the sanitary sewer main to December 31 of the year in which the sewer connection instalment fee is payable.
Fees imposed by the City under section 38 or 39 are due and payable by December 31 of the year for which the fees are imposed.;
(e) replacing section 32 with the following:
- Fees imposed under sections, 24, 28, 39 or 40 and unpaid at the end of the year in which they are due are deemed to be taxes in arrear and may be entered on the tax roll as such.; and
(f) attaching as Schedule C to the bylaw Schedule A to this Bylaw; and
(e ) attaching as Schedule D to the bylaw Schedule B to this Bylaw.
READ A FIRST TIME ON _________, 2019
READ A SECOND TIME ON _________, 2019
READ A THIRD TIME ON _________, 2019
ADOPTED on _________, 2019
Presiding Member
Corporate Officer
SCHEDULE A
Sewer Fees (Instalment Payment) Application
I(we) make application as the registered owner(s) of the parcel located at civic address ______________ (the “Property”) to have a five year exemption from payment of fees and physical connection.
I(we) confirm that I(we) reside at the above mentioned property as our primary residence and that we have a household income, including rental income, of below: a. the low income cut-off threshold as published by Statistics Canada (“LICO”)plus $5,000.
I(we) acknowledge that if my(our) application is approved by the City, we will be exempt from paying fees to Westshore Environmental and Physical connection to the Sewer System and that if during the five year exemption period we connect to the system, the exemption of fees is terminated and we will be required to pay all applicable fees. I(we) acknowledge that after the five year exemption period we will be required to connect to the sewer system and pay all applicable fees.
Signature
Name of Applicant (please print)
Date
Signature
Name of Applicant (please print)
Date
All registered owners of the property must sign
SCHEDULE B
Sewer Fees (Instalment Payment) Application
I(we) make application as the registered owner(s) of the parcel located at civic address ______________ (the “Property”) to have the City pay on my (our) behalf as the owner(s) of the Property the following fees that are payable to West Shore Environmental Services Inc. to connect the Property to the sanitary sewer main (check all that apply):
sewer capital recovery fees of $_________ (insert amount)
sewer connection fees of $_________ (insert amount)
I(we) confirm that I(we) have been unable to obtain a secured or unsecured loan from TD Canada Trust in the amount of the fees to which this application relates.
I(we) confirm that I(we) reside at the above-mentioned property as our primary residence and that we have a household income, including rental income, of between: a. the low income cut-off schedule as published by Statistics Canada (“LICO”) plus $5,000; and, b. Double the LICO.
I(we) acknowledge that if my(our) application is approved by the City, annual fees for a period of 10 years will be imposed by the City to recover with interest (at the rate specified by bylaw) the amount the City pays to West Shore Environmental Services Inc. on my(our) behalf and that such fees may be added to the municipal taxes for the Property as taxes in arrear and collected as such if not paid by December 31 of each year in which they are due.
Signature
Name of Applicant (please print)
Date
Signature
Name of Applicant (please print)
Date
All registered owners of the property must sign
March 4, 2019
In Camera Resolution
a) That it is the opinion of Council that the public interest request that persons other than members of Council and Officers be excluded from the meeting to consider confidential information regarding the acquisition, disposition or expropriation of land or improvements; the receipt of advice that is subject to solicitor-client privileges; and negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their preliminary stages under Section 90 (1) (e) (i) and (k).
b) That Council continue the meeting in closed session.