The Town of Conception Bay South is not happy about being hit at the last minute with a hefty increase in the fee it pays the City of St. John’s for water.

While CBS held the line on property taxes, it is charging households an extra $30 next year for water. That’s because, according to Mayor Darrin Bent, the bill went up by more than $466,000 for this year, and will increase by $511,000 next year. That brings the total annual cost to about $3 1/2-million per year.

That additional $511,000 would have worked out to about $62 per household , however, this is a reassessment year for home values, which helped keep the costs down.

They decided not to pass on the full cost of the water, taking half of it from the higher property assessments, which provides the town with an increase in revenue from taxes.