Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Again on Hamilton Paying for Sewer Backflow Valve

Emma Reilly has a list on the Spec of items to be dealt with today, including the casino. But I'm more interested in this item:

"Staff are recommending tightening the rules around the city's backflow valve program. If council passes the recommendation, homeowners would have to submit three cost estimates for their valves before the city would reimburse their expenses."

I've written about this program before. I think it is ridiculous that the city is socializing the risk of owning a house. If you buy a house, then buying a sewer backflow valve is an excellent idea, but it is your responsibility. Let's face it, on average home owners are richer than renters, so why are renters subsidizing home owners? If this thing was at least means tested for houses assessed at under $250,000 I could understand it, but why pay for someone's mansion repairs. Insane.

The above Spec paragraph makes me wonder if the program is being exploited.

1 comment:

  1. I totally understand your point of view. I myself wouldn’t want to pay for someone’s plumbing problem and that someone might probably be better off than me. If ever I need replacing of backflow preventer networks through a plumber, I’d pay for it myself if I have the resources.

    Carmen @ CentralNewJersey.MrRooter.com

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