Town council are giving property owners an additional four months to pay taxes, as well as reallocating some of the MEEP funding from the province. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Josh Ryan

Extending the window

Town of Battleford delays property tax payments

Jun 10, 2020 | 5:04 PM

During Monday’s meeting, council agreed to push back the due date for property taxes from August 31 to December 31. This will also waive any late fees accrued in the fall. Mayor Ames Leslie said the decision was made in light of increased financial scrutiny for households during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We didn’t want to give an extra burden to the taxpayers,” he said.

The town normally collects around $15,000 in penalties each fall, but council felt the amount wasn’t worth taking away a chance to allow some residents some breathing room in making sure they can follow through on payments during a down economy.

“If we can help a little bit and then collect the taxation [when] they’re not paying, then good,” Leslie said. “But the delay gives them an olive branch to get through this time and get back on their feet.

Those tax payments are also not going to differ drastically from last year. Back in January, council approved the 2020 budget and a tax increase of one per cent, while also leaving the Education Property TaxMill Rate tax unchanged from 2019.

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“If I remember the calculations correctly, it’s about the cost of a cup of coffee per-month,” Leslie said.

Leslie and his fellow council members also approved of small changes in the allocation of Municipal Economic Enhancement Program (MEEP) funding, in order to meet the application requirements. Leslie said it concerns some work already done on the 35 Street Overlay Project. It was budgeted for $284,000, but the MEEP funding will now cover a little over $241,000.

“The engineering portion of that 35 street was not eligible to be part of the MEEP funding,” Leslie said.

The other six items getting MEEP funding will have more than 80 per cent of the costs covered. Leslie said it’s key to complete work on the 2nd Avenue Sidewalk Project, citing an importance of working on sidewalks throughout the municipality.

“That’s something the community has been asking for the whole term of this council,” he said.

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

@JoshRyanSports