Tofino council will consider a policy in the near future to allow residents and businesses some extra time to pay the recently issued water utility bills.

Mayor John Fraser said that although the district didn't receive any letters about the last quarter's water utility bills, some people chose to write directly to mayor and council about the issue (when correspondence is not sent through the district office it is not normally included on the council agenda).

This year's third quarter water utility bills included both a one-time 58 per cent increase in water rates to cover an operational shortfall as well as a new charge that will continue -- a $1.50 per cubic metre capital levy to address infrastructure reserve shortfalls.

Bills are reportedly as high as $700 for a single-family home with high water usage for the three-month period, and much higher for businesses.

Fraser said those who wrote to council were "really upset," about the bills and he said that having both charges on one bill was unfortunate.

"That was bad consideration on our part," he said. "We probably shouldn't have done that."

In light of the situation, council will consider a program where people are given extra time to pay or to develop some sort of payment plan, Fraser said. They will discuss the details at an upcoming council meeting.

The district held a public meeting in September to discuss the capital levy, and there was information at that meeting about the operational deficit as well.

Fraser said he thought most of those who attended the meeting understood the reason for the charges.

Tofino's current water and sewer infrastructure was installed with money from the federal government when Pacific Rim National Park Reserve was created.

"It's been 30 years and we're starting to see problems," he said.

Not many municipalities have put sufficient money aside to make necessary upgrades to infrastructure that's set to expire, he noted, and Tofino is no exception.

District staff did price out borrowing money over the long-term to cover the current shortfall, but Fraser said spreading it out over the next 20 years adds about 50 per cent to the overall cost.

"It was really felt that for benefits we've already used, it's not really appropriate to push it out in the future and make the future people pay for it," he said.

Successful conservation measures during this summer's dry months also meant the district had less revenue than they needed to actually run the water system. The one-time increase to water rates had to be levied because a municipality is not permitted to operate at a deficit, the administrator explained at the September public meeting.

But the double bill is something that not everyone is able to pay, he acknowledged, especially after what many are calling a slower summer season.

"There were some big bills," Fraser said.

Watch the Westerly for details on what council decides in regard to payment considerations.