COVID Deferment
Hinton Town Council Approves Support for those Impacted by COVID-19
April 07, 2020
During a Special Meeting of Council held this (April 7, 2020) afternoon, Hinton Town Council took actions which are intended to provide relief to COVID-19 impacted residents.
These actions offer residents the ability to defer payment and penalties for Property Taxes until August 31, 2020 as well as defer payment and penalties for Town utilities for a period of 120 days ending in August 2020.
Taxes
Under the Municipal Government Act S.347(1) "Council may consider with or without conditions to defer the collection of a tax; cancel or reduce tax arrears; or cancel or refund all or part of a tax." Council does not have the authority to change assessments or the way assessments are determined.
Council made motion:
That Council approve deferral of the deadline for payment of 2020 Property Taxes from June 30, 2020 to August 31, 2020 in order to provide residents and businesses payment deferment as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic.
The Town of Hinton collects 90% of property taxes owing between May and September each year, and for 2020, taxation is estimated to collect $17.9M ($13M Municipal and $4.9M for Requisition Tax) during these months. Administration has analyzed the impact of deferring the collection of property taxes for a sixty-day period from June 30th until August 31st. During this time the Town would continue to send out tax notices but would extend the period for payment to the new deadline date of August 31, 2020.
Please not that resident can continue to pay, or choose to withhold payments, until the new deadline.
Process for Deferment
Standard Billing and Remittance
Residents who typically receive a tax notice, and then pay via online banking, cheque, or at the Government Centre can simply choose to withhold payment until the deadline of August 31, 2020. All amounts owing that are not under a payment plan on August 31, 2020 will come due.
Outstanding 2020 tax balances will begin to accrue penalties on September 1, 2020.
Payment Plans
If you are on a payment plan or direct withdrawal plan and want this discontinued until Aug 31, the resident will need to call in and request this. If you are on a payment plan, please call 780-865-6016 or use the online form available here.
Utilities
The Town of Hinton typically collects between $330,000 and $500,000 in utility revenue each month. The billing cycle for utilities is on a two-month period. The Town receives on average approximately $2,000 bi-monthly or $6,000 over a five-month period in penalty revenue.
Council passed:
That Council approve deferring payment of Town Utilities for a period of 120 days covering the billings for April, May, June and July 2020 including the cancellation of any associated penalties in order to provide residents and businesses payment deferral as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Administration has reviewed the financial impact of deferring utility payments for a two-billing cycle or four-month period. The projected loss of revenue will be approximately $11,000. This shortfall will come from losses in investment income of $5,000 and penalty income of $6,000.
For information on the Town of Hinton’s COVID-19 response, please click here.
Process for Deferment
Standard Billing and Manual Remittance
Utility billing will go out as normal with a note on the invoice stating:
- that residents can continue to pay or chose to withhold payments until August 31, 2020.
If you are a resident that would typically choose your own time and form of payment (cash, cheque, online) you simply can stop paying until August 31, 2020. No penalties will be charged over this period of time. All amounts owing will be due on August 31, 2020.
Outstanding 2020 tax balances will begin to accrue penalties on September 1, 2020
Payment Plan/Automatic Withdrawal
- If you are on a payment plan or direct withdrawal and want this discontinued until August 31, 2020, residents will need to request this. To enroll in deferment, please contact 780-865-6016 or use the online deferment form available here.
- A new payment plan structure will need to be calculated to meet the total amount due
To enroll in deferment, please contact 780-865-6016 or use the online deferment form available here.