Category: News and Updates

The next meeting of People for Public Infrastructure will be on Sunday Feb. 12th from 1:00-2:30 PM. All community members, including elected officials and city staff, are always welcome to participate or listen to our meetings. Please call or text Tom Kertes at 778-884-5343 for details.

The community forum on the city’s public water and sewer infrastructure is cancelled. It had been scheduled for January 21st.

Back in November, we reached out to all city elected officials and other local representatives to invite them to participate in the forum. We hoped that elected officials would attend and participate in an open forum to help residents and businesses learn more the city’s infrastructure needs and options. Unfortunately no elected officials RSVP’d.

Hopefully the city will organize its own town hall forum to speak directly to residents and businesses about city plans for fixing the water and sewer system. Given the emergency situation we faced in December, now is the time to start involving ratepayers in the development of a comprehensive plan for addressing the needs of the system.

Visit the following media updates to learn more about recent water system developments:

• North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice outlines her steps to assist City in response to State of Local Emergency (NCR)
• Sixteen minute Special Council Session charts situation facing City’s water supply and offers information for the public on what’s ahead (NCR)
• Local State of Emergency declared by Prince Rupert City Council (Northern View)
• Local advocacy group for public water infrastructure ownership makes plans for January forum (NCR)
• $12 m – $18 m shortfall leads City of Prince Rupert to research water and sewage privatization (The Northern View)
• City’s water infrastructure planning makes for discussion Monday at Council session (NCR)
• City of Prince Rupert exploring prospects for partnership on Water Treatment Plant (NCR)
• Council members express faith in upcoming Staff review of recent Boil Water Notice process (NCR)

Earlier today, the City of Prince Rupert declared a local state of emergency related to the water system. You can read more about the city’s declaration here.

People for Public Infrastructure issued the following statement in response to the emergency. Read the release by clicking the image below.

Updated 11:45 AM Dec. 18, 2022 (to fix typos)

Read today’s article in The Northern View:

The proponents of plans to privatize the city’s water and, possibly, sewer system say that the reasons are because of costs and recruitment. That is why we’re focused on finding alternatives to privatization that retain public control of the system while addressing the need for enough capital to fund it and enough skilled workers to maintain and run it. Many cities facing similar challenges continue to provide utilities without forming an outside company or adding profit to the equation. Prince Rupert can look at these other cities as models as we develop alternatives to the plan presented by city staff.

• Who: All residents and businesses are invited to attend this event organized by People for Public Infrastructure
• What: Community Forum on Keeping Prince Rupert’s Utilities Public
• Where: Prince Rupert, BC (exact location TBD)
• When: Saturday January 21, 2023 1-4 PM
• Why: Learn about alternatives, share your ideas, meet with experts on how to solve the challenges our utilities are facing

For more information please call Tom Kertes at 778-884-5343 or email him at tomkertes@gmail.com.

A lot has happened since first hearing of the proposal by city staff to form a city-owned company that would privatize our water and, possibly, sewer system.

This proposal was mentioned over an informal dinner with local and provincial politicians on October 12^th.  Word that city staff are planning to form a new city-owned company, which would partner with a private company and run our city’s utility services, raised alarm bells for public infrastructure advocates in the city.

If approved, this plan would remove utility services from direct city government operations and could turn the utility service into a for-profit enterprise. Now that city staff have confirmed their proposed new structure for city utilities, we need to learn all the details. These details will show the extent to which city staff hope to privatize city utilities and what impacts this would have on ratepayers and the utility system.

WHAT IS A PUBLIC SYSTEM? WHAT IS A PRIVATIZED SYSTEM?

A public utility system is one governed by the city, within the municipality itself. This structure puts our city’s representatives in direct control and oversight of the system. It keeps decisions local and democratic. It keeps things simple in terms of governance and operational models. It ensures that elected representatives have ultimate say on rates. And it saves money, which helps keep rates as low as possible. 

A privatized system transfers part or all of a public system to an entity not within the municipality itself. A for-profit privatized utility system (partial or total) adds profit and corporate control to the equation. This reduces local control, weakens the role of elected city councils, and raises prices. The proposal by city staff will likely result in higher fees, higher costs, and reduced local control over the city’s water and sewer system.

UPDATE ON PROGRESS

We met on November 7^th and formed as a community group. We reached out to local politicians and did some initial research in the weeks after that. 

On November 21^st Tom Kertes gave a presentation to city council that focused on the following points:

• A public utility system is one governed directly by the city, within the municipality itself.
• Public utilities cost less, result in lower user fees, and provide more control at the local level.
• Before deciding anything, the city should publicly consider alternatives and city council should engage with the public on whether Prince Rupert should keep its water and sewers public.

On November 18^th, city staff released a Memorandum to Council that confirmed the following:

• City staff are working on a proposed plan to form a “Municipality-Controlled Corporation” (city-owned company) to run the city’s water and, possibly, sewer system – in partnership with a private company (P3).
• There are two parts to this proposed plan. Part one is the creation of a new corporation that would run the system. This would be city-controlled (according to city staff, at least a majority of its board members would be city representatives). Part two is to have this new company partner with a private company (P3). 
• The plan by city staff is risky and complicated. It shifts the governance structure and introduces private control over the system. It would also introduce profit into the equation.

On November 21^st, city staff and city elected officials confirmed the following:

• No final decision has been made. The mayor and several city councilors expressed their openness to engaging with residents and businesses before making a decision.
• The “Municipality-Controlled Corporation” would have “at least” a majority of board members as city representatives, leaving open the possibility that board would include outside (to the city) members as well. 

Many questions remain unanswered, including whether the city-owned company could make a profit and whether it could be sold. The business case, business plan, and total debt raised by the proposed city-owned company remain unclear as well.

NEXT STEPS

Our next steps are:

• Continue reaching to city council members and the mayor. Focus on alternatives and the recommendations from CUPE for municipalities considering a P3.
• Research alternatives. The main arguments from city staff are that the city cannot hire skilled workers to run improvements to the current system and that the city cannot raise the needed capital. What are the solutions to these challenges?
• Hold a community forum early next year. Invite residents and businesses to learn more about the value of public infrastructure. We will also discuss alternatives.

MORE INFORMATION

Click here to see the timeline of the People for Public Infrastructure’s founding.

Tom Kertes of People for Public Infrastructure gave a presentation to City Council on November 21, 2022. Below are the remarks and the follow up letter (sent on November 21st to the City).

City staff are proposing to transfer the city’s utility services to a corporation outside of the local government – in partnership with a for-profit company. This plan would restructure city utilities by changing who governs the system and by adding profit to the equation. Public utilities should remain governed directly by the city, within the municipality itself, because privatized systems result in higher rates, reduced service, and less local control.

WHAT IS A PUBLIC SYSTEM?

A public utility system is one governed by the city, within the municipality itself. This structure puts our city’s representatives in direct control and oversight of the system. It keeps decisions local and democratic. It keeps things simple in terms of governance and operational models. It ensures that elected representatives have ultimate say on rates. And it saves money, which helps keep rates as low as possible. 

WHAT IS A PRIVATIZED SYSTEM?

A privatized system transfers part or all of a public system to an entity not within the municipality itself. A for-profit privatized utility system (partial or total) adds profit and corporate control to the equation. This reduces local control, weakens the role of elected city councils, and raises prices. The proposal by city staff will likely result in higher fees, higher costs, and reduced local control over the city’s water and sewer system.

The City of Prince Rupert released a Memorandum to Council today that provided more details on its plans to privatize Prince Rupert’s public water system and, possibly, its public sewer system.

The Memorandum mentions a directive made by the city council earlier in the year that directs staff to move forward on plans for a municipality-controlled corporation to take over and run the city’s public water system, and possibly its public sewer system, in partnership with a private company.

This announcement raises many questions, including:

• When was this directive made? Who developed the plan? Who was the last to know?
• How developed is the plan – what details remain to be worked out?
• Why form a municipality-controlled corporation? What risks does this create? Will this reduce oversight and local control over the water and sewer system?
• Can this municipality-controlled corporation make profits and can it be sold in the future?
• How will the private partner benefit? What returns on their investment are expected and how will this affect the rates paid by city residents and businesses for water and sewer services?
• How would disputes between the City, the municipality-controlled corporation, and private partners be resolved (including disputes over financing, operation, rates, etc.)?

Memorandum to Council:

People for Public Infrastructure Response to the City’s Plan:

Update (Nov. 20, 2022 at 10:19 AM) – Click here to see the timeline of the People for Public Infrastructure’s founding.