Taber Town Council has decided to end its 20-year utilities contract with EPCOR just nine years into the agreement.
EPCOR was under contract to provide Taber with its water and sewage services.
The move to end the working relationship comes after the company proposed to increase utility rates by 68 per cent. All 10 EPCOR employees will now work for the Town of Taber to ease the transition.
“We brought the employees in-house,” Town of Taber CAO Cory Armfelt said. “There are certain savings we will see by not going to a third party, and we will be able to provide the same service that EPCOR has done.”
“It’s closer to home, it’s more hands-on (now),” Taber Mayor Henk De Vlieger said. “We have our own departments in place that have the knowledge to deal with this and I think the hands-on approach will benefit the town.”
Details about how the contract was broken were not released, however, both the town and EPCOR said the move wouldn’t result in any penalties or buyouts. The town also said there will be no utility increases for this year.
In a recent release, The Town of Taber expressed gratitude for all of the work EPCOR did in the community since the initial agreement was signed in 2008. The company financed a number of large infrastructure projects, including a wastewater treatment facility and the North Storm Pump Station.
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