Sections of the Local Governance Act: 111-119
Description:
Part 11 sets out the provisions regarding a local government’s authority to generate electricity, sell gas or provide customer service in relation to the sale of gas, and provide water or wastewater disposal services.
The areas covered in this part are as follows:
- Definitions
- Generation of electricity
- Generation facility fund
- Budget for generation facility
- Reserve fund
- Borrowing for generation facility
- Water and wastewater disposal services
- Municipalities or commissions that provide electric power service
- Gas services
New Provisions and Intent:
This part provides clarity and simplified language to the authority of local governments to provide electricity, gas, and water and wastewater services. There are some changes to this authority as follows:
Budget for generation facility
Budgets for the operation of a generation facility must be balanced annually. This is a change from the authority to have either an annually balanced budget or a quadrennially balanced budget. However, the provisions to recover deficits or credit surpluses over a four-year period beginning in the second next ensuing year have been retained. In addition, while a local government may continue to transfer some or all of an audited surplus of the generation facility fund to other operating funds of the local government, it may be done only if there are no unfunded prior year deficits.
Water and wastewater disposal services
Annual budgets for water and wastewater services must be balanced annually. This is a change from authority to have either an annually balanced budget or a quadrennially balanced budget. However, the provision to recover deficits or credit surpluses over a four-year period beginning in the second next ensuing year has been retained.
Wording regarding the charging of a portion of the water costs relating to fire protection services to property tax payers has been changed to reflect that the charge is to the general operating fund budget.