Souris seniors allotted water and sewer rebate

The town of Souris, P.E.I. is offering a rebate next year for seniors to offset the cost of their water and sewer bills.

Any senior homeowner in the town making less than $30,000 per year will be eligible for the $100 cheque.

The rebate is the brainchild of Thelma MacDonald, a town councillor and president of the local seniors' club.

"Water and sewer rates have gone up considerably over the last three years. Overall it went up $180 in three years, which is a lot of money when you are on a fixed income. Our pensions haven't risen that much, for sure, and everything else is going up. So I brought it to council that maybe we could give a rebate. So at the end of it we decided we would give them $100 a year rebate to seniors 65 years of age and over," she said.

"Now some people are a little reluctant to bring in their income tax return, which is what they have to do."

MacDonald said only one town official will see the financial information and it will remain confidential.

Seniors have until Dec. 31 to apply.

Council said the cheque should arrive in the mail before the end of March.