Committee of the Whole Meeting–June 17, 2025

City Hall front exterior

Water and Sewer Bylaw and Rate Updates

Greg Wightman, the City's Utility and Environmental Services Divisional Manager, presented a report providing information and seeking input on efforts to modernize the Waterworks Bylaw and the Sanitary Sewer Bylaw and to develop new water and sewer rate structures that address existing and emerging concerns. Since May 2024, staff have been working with a utility rate consultant to explore new rate structures that would: 

  • ensure the financial sustainability of the utilities
  • create simple and equitable rate structures
  • incentivize water conservation
  • address known and emerging concerns

Staff are recommending rate structures that shift the revenue generation methodology from predominantly fixed charges to predominantly variable charges and provide more bill control to the customers through an enhanced user-pay rate structure.

The Committee of the Whole provided input on the recommended water and sewer rate structures and bylaw amendments and directed staff to prepare a new Waterworks Bylaw and Sanitary Sewer Bylaw for Council’s consideration in the fourth quarter of 2025. The Committee further directed staff to finalize the recommended water and sewer rate structures and to present options for Council’s consideration as part of the 2026 utility rate report.

2025 Union of BC Municipalities Minister Meeting Requests

Jen Fretz, the City's Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, provided a report seeking the Committee of the Whole’s guidance on which provincial ministers Council would like to meet with during the 2025 Union of BC Municipalities Convention. The annual Union of BC Municipalities Convention is a controlled opportunity for Council to advocate to the provincial government ministries, by submitting one 15-minute meeting request per minister, with up to three topics per meeting. The 2025 Union of BC Municipalities Convention will be held September 22–26 in Victoria, BC.

The Committee of the Whole recommended that Council approves setting meetings with the following ministries on a range of topics, as discussed:  

  • Ministry of Citizens’ Services
  • Ministry of Education and Child Care
  • Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
  • Ministry of Finance
  • Ministry of Health
  • Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs
  • Ministry of Infrastructure
  • Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
  • Ministry of Transportation and Transit
  • Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
  • Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport

The Committee made two additional recommendations: 

  • that Council send the Chairpersons of each Council Select Committee to advocate for Kamloops’ community challenges with various relevant ministry staff in Victoria to begin discussions prior to the 2025 Union of BC Municipalities Convention  
  • that those items passed as resolutions at the Southern Interior Local Government Association Convention would also be included in advocacy efforts at the Union of BC Municipalities Convention