York University's water could be shut off due to what city calls 'significant' unpaid bill
The city of Toronto and York University are locked in a dispute over what the city is calling a "significant" unpaid utility bill — one that could result in an interruption in the university's water supply.
The city's treasurer and lawyer released a report suggesting recommendations to deal with the outstanding charges from the university — "one of the largest consumers of water in the City of Toronto," the report says.
"City staff have met with York University staff on numerous occasions to discuss the matter of the outstanding public utility arrears, however, the parties remain at an impasse."
According to York, staff have negotiated the amount of the bill, which they say was reduced, but there continue to be errors in the amount of the bill.
In a statement emailed to CBC Toronto, the university says "it has paid its City of Toronto water bill and continues to pay its City of Toronto water bill.
"Several years ago, York noticed a significant and unexplained increase in its water bills," the statement reads.
"There continue to be outstanding issues related to calculation of amounts of water used during a 22 month period. During that time, York's daily water usage appeared to increase inexplicably by 230% according to the City.
City water meters 'installed incorrectly,' York says
The university says it has hired an expert who "found that at least three meters were installed incorrectly by the City, leading to incorrectly high meter readings and billings."
The city report states that York is "committed to work with the City to arrive at a common understanding of the issues" but has indicated university officials "believe the amount in arrears is a result of errors in the recorded consumption or billings."
Lawyers for the city gave some potential suggestions for dealing with the bill, the amount for which is not given in the report.
One remedy is to shut off water to the school until the money is paid. Another is to transfer the overdue charges to the property tax account. The city could also take the university to court.
Two years ago, city council adopted a report from the auditor general to have their revenue services department identify "high risk and high value accounts" to ensure the money was being collected.
The university is currently in the middle of a contract dispute with some of its workers. After failing to negotiate a new contract with the administration, contract faculty, teaching assistants, graduate assistants and research assistants went on strike on March 5. The university, however, has remained open for classes.
