Environment Committee

(on behalf of Councillor S. Qadri): WHEREAS there may be a number of outstanding questions that remain regarding the departmental response to Environment Committee Inquiry No. EC 04-15, “Standpipes on Residential Properties”; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, pursuant to Section 89(3) of the Procedure By-Law (being By-Law No. 2014-441), Response to Inquiry No. EC 04-15 be lifted from Environment Committee Agenda 7, for discussion * at the Environment Committee meeting of Tuesday, 16 February 2016.

(on behalf of Councillor S. Qadri): WHEREAS the Response to Inquiry EC 04-15, “Standpipes on Residential Properties” indicates that the current fee of $126 the City of Ottawa charges for adjustments to standpipes generates very little revenue for the City ($6300 in 2015); and WHEREAS staff has advised this fee was put in place in the 2004 budget as part of the Universal Program Review’s approach to charging user fees for some services that are not core to municipal operations; and WHEREAS the Response to Inquiry further identifies that none of the other Ontario municipalities surveyed (Hamilton, Kingston, Peel, Toronto and Markham) that provide similar services for adjustments to standpipes on residential property charge for those services; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT staff be directed to review the relative cost/benefit for continuing to charge a fee for adjustments to standpipes in the City of Ottawa, given the relatively low demand and low revenues described, and report back to Committee by the end of Q2 2016 .