Residents struggling in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic now have the option to defer their Town of Okotoks utility bills payments and may see a break on taxes.
Town council approved a bylaw during its March 23 meeting that will allow ratepayers to delay payments on their water bills without penalty for three months during the next two billing cycles. Bills from January and February, previously due March 31, are now due June 30 and bills from March and April, previously due May 31, will not come due until Aug. 31.
The decision came after a call from the Province on March 12 for municipalities to consider deferring their utility bills similar to the government’s decision to allow ratepayers to delay their payments on gas and electrical bills.
During the meeting, Okotoks CAO Elaine Vincent implored residents who are able to continue making regular payments.
“If you have the means to pay, please do so to avoid having a difficult situation later,” said Vincent.
Those who currently use pre-authorized payments may email the Town at [email protected] before March 30 should they choose not to have their bill amount withdrawn on March 31. The subject line should be “Cancellation of Pre-Authorized Payment” and the email should include property address or utility account number.
Council has also directed Town staff to explore potentially using $1.5 million of surplus from 2019 to reduce property taxes for 2020, and reports will be brought forward to the next council meeting on April 27.
Coun. Matt Rockley said it’s a prudent move during difficult financial times for many taxpayers.
“I think the citizens of Okotoks and of the world are facing a lot of uncertainty right now,” he said. “This is a measure that can be taken now, as with all levels of government the environment is changing rapidly, but I think this is a measure that can be done today to help reduce the financial impact in a small part.”
He asked Town administration to return to the April 27 meeting with potential ways to use the $1.5 million surplus to cover items in the 2020 budget in order to reduce the hit to ratepayers.
Currently in the Town of Okotoks, $280,000 is roughly equivalent to a one per cent change in taxes. If council chooses to use the entire surplus amount to reduce the tax rate, it would go down by more than five per cent from the two per cent increase approved in December 2019.
Coun. Ed Sands said it’s the right thing to do at this time, rather than putting the surplus into reserves as per regular procedures.
“This has been called a rainy day fund, and I don’t think anybody will doubt it’s hurricaning right now,” he said.
To further alleviate the tax burden this spring, the Province announced it would be rescinding its 3.4 per cent increase in the education requisition to municipalities, and instead its take will be the same as 2019. In addition, the education property tax may be deferred for six months to allow residents extra time to pay.
Coun. Tanya Thorn requested the Town reopen its budget process to evaluate the 2020 numbers based on COVID-19 implications like reducing taxes and closing facilities, and the added expense of running the Emergency Operations Centre.
“It’s prudent for us to take and have a look at the validity of our 2020 budget and how that is all going to play out,” said Thorn. “I think looking at some different scenarios – worst-case scenario, balanced scenario and best-case so we can make some decision on how to proceed forward for 2020.”
Due to COVID-19, council is altering its meeting dates to the fourth Monday of each month until further notice.
For more information, contact the Town at 403-938-4404 or visit www.okotoks.ca.
Krista Conrad, OkotoksToday.ca
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