Archive

Town Council defers property tax, water rate collections until September

June 18, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

Orangeville Council has extended tax relief measures it introduced back in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic by a further three months, giving local residents a break on property taxes and water/wastewater rates until Sept. 30. 

The move comes as people in the community continue to struggle amid the coronavirus crisis. Mayor Sandy Brown felt it was important to offer assistance to local residents who remain impacted by the ongoing pandemic. Back in March, Council agreed to waive all fees, penalties and interest related to late payment of property taxes, and both water and wastewater rates, until June 30. 

There was some concern, initially, that the move could cost the Town as much as $15 million if every ratepayer took advantage of the extension. In reality, Orangeville Treasurer Nandini Syed said Town coffers had barely been affected by the move. 

“I do not have a percentage in front of me, but I have not seen any irregular shift (in payments). We had our last (tax) due date on April 27, and most of the payments we were expecting to come through did come through,” Ms. Syed informed Council. “It’s not been any different from any other tax due date.”

Mayor Brown said he was pleased to hear that local residents hadn’t taken advantage of a program that was always meant to assist those in desperate need. 

“That was the intention – for the deferral to help those who needed it. We didn’t want to effect cash flow, and it sounds like we haven’t. All while still offering this program to those in absolute need of taking advantage of it,” Mayor Brown said.  

In addition to giving residents a break on property tax and water/wastewater rates, Council also decided the Town would continue to operate its municipal transit system at no cost to riders up until Sept. 30.

Readers Comments (0)