Dear Citizens of Taber,
As the Chief Elected Official, and at the request of Council, I am writing to clear up a matter of public concern.  The Town recently appeared before the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) to defend our decision to activate utility accounts on all serviced properties, in contrast to allowing some accounts to be inactivated in the system (where buildings were vacant, people went away in the winter for vacations, etc.). This change would result in the Town charging flat fees as set out in the rate schedules attached to the utility bylaw. There had been inconsistent practices in the past in terms of shutting off services and how rates were charged.  In consideration of a consistent practice, our administrative staff advised that the Bylaw allowed for the application of a flat rate fee and as a Council we authorized the charges.  This practice was, however, determined by the AUC as not being authorized under the then-applicable utility bylaw (Bylaw 1-2010). Our system of due diligence failed to recognize this, and that there were exemptions from all water and sewer charges during a discontinuance of water use, and not the intended distinction between fixed (flat) fees and consumption fees.

I participated in the public hearing conducted by the Alberta Utilities Commission in June, where several residents of Taber complained that the town staff had violated the utility bylaw.
The town CAO has overall responsibility for the town utilities, and then CAO Gordon Frank resigned effective the day after the AUC hearing. The town's Director of Corporate Services has responsibility for billing for the town's utility services. Dale Culler, the Director of Corporate Services, should also resign.

Thanks to the Shell Gas Station and Smitty's Restaurant for the honesty they demonstrated with returning my wallet that I had left in their public washroom.

Nothing has changed since the Alberta Utilities Commission’s decision was handed down. The town administrators refuse to accept that they have done anything wrong.  The administration has gone to great lengths to ‘explain’ to council and the residents of our town that the illegal assessment of utility charges was caused by an “error in the bylaw.” Surely the administration has read and studied the AUC decision.