Regina anti-poverty advocates concerned about proposed switch to user-pay model for waste services

Anti-poverty advocates are worried that a proposed change to how Regina charges for waste pickup will hurt low-income households.

Regina's executive committee voted unanimously Wednesday in favour of charging on utility bills rather than property taxes for garbage, recycling and the new yard waste pickup program.

City councillors say this will allow residents to take waste management into their own hands. The matter goes to city council for a vote next week. 

The user-pay option also includes a rate reduction component for low-income households with either a senior or person with a disability living there.

But anti-poverty activists say that isn't enough. They want more rebate options for other low-income Regina residents. 

"This is happening at a time of extremely high inflation, a time when utility costs have been going up. It's post-implementation of the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program, which has meant that for people on that program, their utilities are wrapped into their shelter allowance so they're not actually getting covered for the actual cost of their utilities," said Peter Gilmer, an advocate for the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry. 

Gilmer said his organization is seeing an increase in the number of people who are dealing with arrears and utility cut-offs. He said the switch to a user-pay model will negatively affect the people they work with the most. 

Waste reduction

Regina's waste diversion rate has remained static at about 20 per cent since 2015. The city's goal is to increase it to 65 per cent to prolong the life of the city landfill.

Currently there is a mixed approach for funding waste services in Regina. Recycling service is paid for by a user fee charged on monthly utility bills, while garbage service is paid by property taxes. 

If the user-pay system goes forward, the fee each resident pays would vary depending on the garbage cart size selected (240L or 360L) and eligibility for the affordability program.

"Ultimately we too are concerned about issues of long-term environmental and financial costs in terms of growing waste concerns, and we do realize that Regina has a high proportion of of waste," Gilmer said.

"But I don't believe that a user fee system is going to be the solution here. It certainly would not be equitable, but it would not be progressive and I think that it's going to add additional hardship for those many households that we're already dealing with that are finding themselves in utility arrear and cut-off situations."

Gilmer said he wants the city to look further at creative solutions for incentivizing waste reduction. 

He said the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry does not want the user-pay motion to pass when it goes to city council next week, but at the very least would like to see an amendment that expands rebate options. 

However, Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak said it would be administratively difficult to have two separate utility bill rebates for low-income households.

"I personally don't have the answer for what might be a logical amendment to expand the rebate to other low-income residents that doesn't cause challenges," Zachidniak said. 

She said she understands how difficult paying the updated utility bills would be for many low-income people.

"I take that concern very seriously. I do feel like [administration] tried to carefully balance the needs of residents and the needs for us to reduce waste. I'm definitely open to hearing if there's another option not in the report that will accomplish both."

Administration's proposal includes an initial period where the garbage, recycling and yard waste services will be paid for by the city's utility reserve, according to Zachidniak.

"So residents will have the ability to adjust to this change and figure out what waste diversion, what size of cart meets their needs, and not have to pay extra for these services for four months next year," she said.

"So I do feel like they tried to carefully balance the needs of residents and the need for us to reduce waste."

Zachidniak said that as administration reports back annually, there will be continued opportunities for council to review and revise the program.

How the rebates will work

The administration's affordability option is called the Waste Utility Rebate Program, and is for low-income households with seniors and/or people living with a disability. 

It would apply a fixed rebate to participants' charge at the time of billing. The program will cost $100,000 per year, according to the city. This would be financed by user fees.

The standard daily rebate would be $0.15 per day ($54.75 per year). The increased daily rebate would be $0.30 ($109.50) for households that have an annual household income less than or equal to half of the eligibility threshold.

At Wednesday's meeting, administration recommended implementing the affordability option only if a full user-fee funding policy is adopted. If any other funding policy option is selected, then affordability would be factored into the tax portion.

Moving to a user fee for all three curbside waste services will remove approximately $8.9 million (or 3.16 per cent mill rate) in costs from the property tax base.

If approved by council, the new fee structure will come into effect Jan. 1, 2024.