Drumheller Town Council is aiming to have the Town’s water and sewer utility rates finalized early in the new year.
    Before settling on what the new rates will be, Council was presented with different options they could pursue.
    The goal of the rates, as mandated by the Municipal Governance Act, is for the Town to recover its costs for the utilities.
    “Tonight, we were presented with a couple options; a three per cent cost of living increase, a five per cent increase, to a possible seven per cent increase,” said Mayor Terry Yemen. “Historically, our budget has been three per cent...but it’s a decision Council will make after meeting with the consultant. He’s going to take us through the whole process and answer any questions that Council has.”
    For example, with a three per cent increase, the fixed rate for water would go from $10.50 to $10.80 and the metered rate would go from $1.36 per cubic metre to $1.39.
    A five per cent increase would result in a fixed rate of $11.00 and a metered rate of $1.41 per cubic metre.
    In the Town’s budget, calculations were made assuming a three per cent increase.
    The Town is on track, with a three per cent increase, to raise roughly $2.8 million from its utilities. That amount covers the operating costs of the Town’s utilities, but leaves little leftover.
    Increasing the utilities rates further would give the Town extra to put towards reserves and fund repairs or capital projects.
    “The way the province has it set up, they say we should be collecting a whole lot more money to put into reserves,” said Mayor Yemen.
    Other options presented to Council included different ratios between fixed and metered rates for utilities. However, decreasing one would necessitate an increase in the other to generate the same amount of revenue.
    “We can eliminate the fixed rate, but the meter rate goes up. For example, if we lowered the fixed rate to $5.00 per month, the meter rate goes up to $1.59 per cubic meter,” said Yemen. “There’s still a cost to have that line and that meter, so you want to do it as fairly as possible.”
    Council will be meeting with their consultant tomorrow to discuss the utility rates further. From there, Council will make a decision early in the new year. Until Council makes their decision, the 2012 rates will still apply.

    If curling up on the couch and watching the national celebrations ring in the New Year is more your speed, you are in for a treat.
    Hey Romeo will be on stage in Edmonton and across Canada as part of the CityTV’s national celebration.
    The New Year’s Bash at Nathan Philip’s Park in Toronto is one of the country’s largest and is in its 28th year. The party is also at Olympic Plaza in Calgary and Churchill Square in Edmonton.
    This year Hey Romeo is a part of the celebration.
    “The new years gig is going to be a blast here in Edmonton downtown in Churchill Square, we just did the press conference yesterday at City Hall where we sang a couple of songs,” Rob Shapiro, former Drumheller resident and keyboard player for Hey Romeo told The Mail. “Citytv and Events Edmonton are partnering this year in production of the event so they are really kicking up the production with big video screens and other stuff.”
    This year the celebration includes a number of big names including internationally acclaimed vocalists the Tenors, hip-hop star Kardinall Offishall and Johnny Reid. Last year the show was reported to have drawn 5.1 million viewers. Hey Romeo will be performing in primetime from 11:05 to 11:35 p.m.
    “It will be televised on Citytv nationally so that is great exposure for the band for sure!” said Shapiro.
    The band is wrapping up a very successful 2012. Their single “Maybe You Remember Me cracked the Top 40 in Canada, hitting number 37 last week. Last week the band also received another award nomination, This time from the Association of Country Music in Alberta  (ACMA). They are nominated for   Group or Duo of the Year and Fan’s Choice Award.
    “The ACMA is in their 2nd year of existence so it’s a new organization but was fun to be a part of last year as we hosted their inaugural awards show in Red Deer,” said Shapiro.
    The ACMA Awards are January 27 in Red Deer. The band is also planning to head to Nashville to get working on some new songs. And after that they will be on the high seas headlining the Hey Romeo Cruise in February.