File photo. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Taxes and utilities

COVID-19: P.A. passes financial relief measures

Apr 9, 2020 | 8:00 AM

Prince Albert city council unanimously passed two new measures aimed at lessening the financial burden of the COVID-19 outbreak on residents at a special council meeting Wednesday night.

Individuals and businesses who have suffered serious financial losses as a result of the pandemic can now apply to have their property tax deadline extended to September 30.

Penalties for unpaid utility bills will also be waived until September 30.

“Many people have been laid-off. Lots of people, their income has been affected,” Mayor Greg Dionne told paNOW. “And the other reason that we had to take these measures, and we may have to prolong them, is that once COVID-19 is over, we’re going to be slow recovering, and that’s the concern I’m working on now, getting people back to work.”

Applicants who meet criteria will have the deadline for their property tax payment moved from June 30 to September 30.

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To cover the resulting decrease in cash flow in June, the city will borrow $20 million. Of that, $10 million will come from a line of credit, with the remaining $10 million from a short-term loan. The total projected interest over 4.5 months is $176,250.

Dionne said the borrowing shouldn’t worry residents.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of debt,” he explained. “But you better control it, and we’re well in control of it.”

Billing for utilities will continue as usual, but effective April 1, the City will suspend penalties for accounts in arrears until September 30.

Dionne said residents should still keep up on payments if they can.

“We ask people if they can pay their water bill to pay them, because if you put them off until September and they’re not paid, we’re going to have no option,” he said.

The city will continue to tag houses that are late on their utility payments and ask them to contact the water department to arrange a payment plan.

Notices have been updated and no longer say that water to the residence will be cut-off, city administration said during the meeting. The city suspended water cut-off for accounts in arrears in March.

Dionne emphasized that the only people still at risk of getting their water disconnected are those that have not yet booked an appointment to have a new water meter installed.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom