City councillors are pushing to pass a much-delayed regulation to collect wastewater treatment fees from Bangkok residents.
The plan is to earn 700 million baht a year.
Councillors yesterday approved laws that allow the city to collect wastewater treatment fees at their first reading, and set up a 15-member scrutiny panel to consider the content of the regulations.
If the new ordinance gets the nod, "officials can start collecting money within this year", city councillor Phaithun Khampharat said during a Bangkok City Council session.
The move would end the long delay in the city administration's attempts to collect water treatment fees. Councillors approved the municipal act on wastewater fee collection in 2004, but the the city administration did not follow through by passing laws that would govern how fees are to be collected.
The fee for wastewater treatment could help the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) strengthen its finances.
The current five-year National Economic and Social Development Plan, which will be in effect until 2021, is intended to reduce state budgets granted to local administrative bodies nationwide. The BMA needs to adjust its financial management by coming up with new channels to earn money as a result.
With several thousand fee payers, including state agencies and small- and large-scale businesses, City Hall can secure a total of 855 million baht a year if it manages to collect the fee from all Bangkok residents.
However, it is estimated officials will only collect money from 80% of them, which would give the BMA 700 million yearly, Mr Phaithun said.
The scrutiny panel has been assigned to consider a range of issues, including ways to ensure Bangkokians pay wastewater treatment bills. A proposal to allow the BMA to hire a private firm to collect the fee will also be discussed.
Earlier, BMA administrators suggested the fee be billed as part of the garbage fee the city collects. Otherwise the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority should be asked to help collect the fee as part of the monthly water bill.
How much will be charged was also discussed by officials who wanted the calculation to be based on the amount of wastewater building owners discharge. Householders who produce waste of between 10 to 100 cubic metres a month will be charged 30 baht monthly. The rate will increase to four baht per cubic metres for hotels, factories and large-scale business operators.
