Chapleau's mayor is decrying a "complete surprise" increase in the cost for water services.
Mayor Michael Levesque says a new ten-year contract with the Ontario Clean Water Agency means a 28% increase.
Despite that, Mayor Levesque says the Township will "not necessarily" pass on those costs to residents - at least not initially.
Instead, Mayor Levesque says this will be addressed during budget discussions, expecting the increase will be covered by reserves while Council goes "line-by-line" to remove projected expenses from the Township's budget to keep costs down.
Levesque says this isn't a unique problem, as he understands "a lot of other municipalities who deal with OCWA" are facing a similar situation.