Town of Erin to discuss Nestlé Waters' voluntary levy proposal Tuesday night

Town of Erin councillors are set to discuss whether the municipality should accept money from Nestlé Waters Canada that would come from a voluntary levy the company has proposed.

Nestlé Waters has said the money is a donation to help improve the community and would be based on how much water it pumps from the well the company owns in Hillsburgh.

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But critics have said the money is nothing more than Nestlé Waters paying the Town of Erin for water in a backhanded way.

Heidi Matthews and Liz Armstrong are set to appear before council Tuesday night to argue the town should reject the money.

• Town of Erin council meeting agenda for April 18

"We are representing growing numbers of citizens and groups – increasing daily – who would like our council to say no to Nestlé's levy and who themselves have said no to using plastic water bottles," the two women wrote in notes about their delegation, which have been posted with the council agenda said.

Matthews and Armstrong said councillors should defer any decision until they can get more input from citizens and local groups.

'We really want to add value to the community'

Andreanne Simard, a natural resource manager with Nestlé Waters Canada, will also appear before council Tuesday night.

She told CBC News the company did a survey of local residents to see what they could do to improve relations and donating funding to the community was a top suggestion.

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Simard said they've owned the well in Erin for 17 years and they want to be good neighbours – that's why the company is offering the fund.

"It's certainly not a PR stunt. This is something that we really want to add value to the community and it's one of the many ways that we're trying to do so," she said.

There's no restriction for how the town can use the money, but Simard said ideally, it would not go into general revenue.

"We want to see the community benefit from this in a tangible way," she said.

Staff recommend accepting funds

A staff report from Town of Erin director of finance Ursula D'Angelo recommends accepting the voluntary levy from Nestlé Waters Canada and use the money for community projects.

Nestlé Waters has offered 50 cents for every 1,000 litres of water it pumps from the Hillsburgh well.

The report notes between 2001 and 2009, the town received a voluntary levy from Nestlé in amounts ranging from $7,954 up to $31,957. That was used to build a skate park and playground equipment at Barbour Fields.

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Nestlé has said under the new levy, the town would receive a minimum of $25,000 annually.

"If the voluntary levy is not accepted, community projects would be pooled with other projects and prioritized accordingly, which can result in delays," D'Angelo wrote.

Accepting the voluntary levy now would be "following the past practice of the town to accept a voluntary levy from Nestlé."

Mayor Al Alls and councillors have declined to speak with CBC News ahead of the meeting.

Tuesday's meeting gets underway at 6:30 p.m.