Bell: Calgary council scrambles as Smith to tackle power bill rip-off

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Doesn’t appear to matter what these clowns do now.

The provincial authorities is taking the stage.

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April 16. Mark it in your calendar.

That’s when the provincial authorities led by Premier Danielle Smith is anticipated to make their transfer on how Calgary metropolis corridor calculates its native entry payment in your electrical energy invoice and its franchise payment in your pure gasoline invoice.

They’re reducing the increase.

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Electrical energy prices are coming down however not too long ago the tab from the charges has been an actual ache within the butt.

Metropolis corridor knew for years if electrical energy costs skyrocketed their charges would go alongside for the experience up, up, up and extra, extra, extra out of your pocket.

They knew they might gouge you.

They have been up for gouging you.

Then, when the time got here, they gouged you.

Then while you realized they gouged you essentially the most unpopular metropolis council in Calgary’s historical past acted shocked.

Then they dragged their ft.

The dough from their native entry payment in your electrical energy invoice and the franchise payment in your pure gasoline invoice final yr totalled $376.7 million, greater than the $200 million additional cash than they budgeted to take from you.

The warmth was on. The provincial authorities was respiration down their neck. Calgarians have been complaining.

Metropolis council needed to do one thing.

Then, once they huddled earlier than Christmas, they kicked the can down the street.

No shock. This mayor and its metropolis council majority couldn’t arrange a booze-up at a brewery.

The can was kicked down the street to Monday and a so-called strategic assembly of metropolis council the place, having already picked the pockets of Calgarians, they might now mend their methods.

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In the meantime, the province is laying down the legislation in lower than a month.

Calgary metropolis council is like the child who takes too lengthy to scrub up their bed room and now their mother and father must step in and ensure it’s performed.

The provincial authorities poobahs inform us they notice Calgary’s charges are the very best in Alberta by an extended shot.

They notice the town made a killing they usually don’t need that to occur once more.

The province can be mentioned to be anxious different locations in Alberta would have a look at Calgary’s latest bonanza and determine this is perhaps a swell means for them to shake down residents for extra dough.

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The provincial sorts say they sat down with metropolis corridor and warned them.

Do one thing about these charges or we are going to.

On Monday, councillors wrestle over whether or not to get metropolis corridor deep thinkers to cook dinner up a brand new technique to decide native entry charges.

Some on metropolis council, the group nicknamed the Wise Six by some and the Widespread Sense Six by others, recommended backing off till the province makes its play.

The town council majority disagreed.

They wanted to make it appear to be they have been the locomotive and never the caboose responding to this trainwreck.

“I personally see this as throwing a ball up within the air and ready for the province to only smash us,” says Jasmine Mian, a councillor typically on the identical aspect as Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

However guess what.

If it’s as much as metropolis corridor nothing will change till 2027, nearly three full years from now.

Three years!

That is an previous drawback.

Again in 2010, the provincial authorities was going to do one thing in regards to the charges however later wimped out.

Calgary was the wrongdoer 14 years in the past.

Calgary metropolis corridor fought again. Nobody would take their golden goose.

They claimed the province fixing the issue “erodes our autonomy and our potential to fulfill the wants of Calgarians.”

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Rob Anderson, then a Wildrose member of the legislature and now Smith’s right-hand man, mentioned what Calgary was doing in 2010 appeared like “a ratepayer gouge” to him.

Fourteen years in the past, Richard Truscott of the Canadian Federation of Impartial Enterprise informed provincial politicians Calgary had the very best mixed charges in Alberta even again in 2005.

Truscott mentioned when the worth of electrical energy or pure gasoline went up, Calgary metropolis corridor would get a windfall of latest money due to the best way they arrange their charges.

Learn this quote from Truscott 14 years in the past.

“Because it stands now, Calgary is clearly, you recognize,  an outlier.

“They’re clearly calculating each electrical energy and pure gasoline charges in a means that’s utterly completely different than different municipalities and producing a a lot larger quantity of income consequently.”

Costs and costs at the moment are taking place.

We should always get a rebate for all of the loot they took.

Then once more, we’ve got a council led by Mayor Gondek the place they slap on a giant tax hike and nonetheless say they don’t have sufficient money.

The massive query. Will Calgarians lastly summon up what little curiosity and power it takes to go to the poll field and never be handled as fools?

Once more.

rbell@postmedia.com

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