1 week Ago By Matthew Claxton
A change in how Langley Township bills property owners for their local taxes and utility services has caused some confusion, as owners began receiving bills for water, sewage, and trash pickup in late March. The new bills are called Annual Flat Utility Fees Statement, and the bill has a box that notes this is "New for 2025 – separate billing for utility fees and property taxes." For decades, the Township, along with most neighbouring municipalities, has bundled its property tax bills with the utility fees for garbage pickup, recycling, water, and sewer.
Last year, the Township council voted to separate those bills, but it is not a brand new bill or fee, and it has the same due date as property taxes: July 2, 2025. Mayor Eric Woodward addressed the confusion and the reasoning behind the change in a recent Facebook post. Woodward said that the change allows the Township .
Until now, almost all residential water users have paid the same flat fee for water, much of which is based on the rate that Metro Vancouver charges. "For many residents, especially those who use less water, this means they’re paying more than they should," Woodward wrote. Having a water meter would allow low- to moderate-use water customers to cut the amount they pay, while users who are above average would pay more with a meter.
The goal is to increase water conservation and reduce the amount the Township has to pay to purchase water from Metro Vancouver. "That said, it’s clear now that there should have been a much better explanation," Woodward wrote. "It should have been sent at the same time as the property tax statement, to show that these are not new.
The new utility bill definitely caught many people off guard." He thanked those who called and emailed, and said communication should have been better. The property tax bill has traditionally come bundled with a number of other fees, some of which are not within the control of local municipalities.
Most residents in the Township pay for water, sewer, garbage pickup, a library fee and other charges, but many of the fees are user-pay. Residents who get their water from a well don't pay water utility fees, for example, and some rural residents live outside the Township's collection zones for garbage. Woodward noted that the fees for water and sewer are among the largest the municipality pays.
One of the recent cost issues, which drove up the water bill dramatically this year, is the ongoing delays and massive cost overruns for the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is now years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. Originally intended to cost $700 million, it's now estimated to cost $3.86 billion.
Fees linked to sewer issues rose 28.69 per cent this year, compared to a property tax increase of 4.5 per cent in the Township.
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