Photo: Curtis Galbraith

By Emily Keller

property taxes

City looking to defer property tax due dates during COVID-19 pandemic

Mar 23, 2020 | 5:29 PM

The City is looking to defer property tax due dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Council’s meeting on Monday, administration presented proposed deferrals and bylaw changes for those who may not be able to pay property taxes due to a loss of income and financial struggles.

Mayor Bill Given says this will help those who may be struggling right now, but it does not come without significant effects to the City.

“Those property taxes are vitally important, and those people and businesses who can pay their property taxes on time and on a regular schedule should, but for those people who need a little bit more space, given the evolving situation with COVID, we are going to find a way to do that.”

He says the income generated from property taxes funds services such as snow removal and emergency services.

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The changes would push the due date for property taxes to August 31, 2020, for both residential and non-residential.

The City would also eliminate the penalty calculations for May and July, which they estimate will benefit the community with approximately $900,000.

Mayor Given says that these deferrals will be especially helpful for non-residential property owners.

“You may have a business that is closed down with absolutely zero revenue. We want people to be able to retain their financial resources to continue paying staff, to continue to pay other bills that may come in, because we want to ensure that we’re not damaging businesses for when we do eventually return to normal in our community.”

All reminders would cease until September 1, 2020, as will NSF’s and the Tax Installment Payment Plan (TIPP).

Council voted to have Administration enact the deferrals through bylaw changes.

“We directed administration to incorporate these changes and bring them back, so just to be really clear, we haven’t made the changes,” said Given, “We’ve told our staff to do everything it takes to make the changes, and at a subsequent council meeting somewhere down the line here, Council will formally approve that.”