Council approves pandemic financial relief for Newmarket residents, businesses
Interest charge waiver extended, water and wastewater rates will drop, stormwater charges deferred
Newmarkettoday.ca
April 28, 2020
The Town of Newmarket has finalized a comprehensive Financial Relief Program to help residents and businesses in the community manage the financial challenges created as a result of COVID-19. This program is an extension of the preliminary measures that the Town of Newmarket put in place in March to waive penalties and interest on the March and April property tax payments. The Town wants to provide financial relief to those most affected by the global pandemic by expanding tax and water bill relief, including;
- No penalty and interest charges on property tax payments until January 1, 2021
- No penalty and interest charges for late payment of water/wastewater bills until January 1, 2021
- Reducing water and wastewater rates by 4.69 per cent beginning May 1, 2020
- Waiving all Non-Sufficient Fund (NSF) penalties until the end of June 2020
- Deferring the stormwater charges to November 2020
- No penalty and interest charges for all Town accounts receivable including development agreements, leases and sponsorships
“It was extremely important for us to move forward with this Financial Relief Program to help our residents and businesses who are most in need, now more than ever we have to support each other and our community,” says Newmarket Mayor John Taylor. “If your finances are not significantly impacted by COVID-19, we urge you to please continue to pay your taxes according to the scheduled dates if you can. This will help the Town as we continue to use our resources to support those who need it most.”
The Town’s Financial Relief Program ensures fairness and equity and is coordinated with the programs being offered by other levels of government. The total cost will be between $810,000 - $930,000. Residents and businesses that are able to continue to pay are strongly encouraged to do so. This will help the Town to continue to dedicate resources to those most financially challenged by COVID-19 and to continue providing essential services like fire and emergency, waste collection and safe drinking water. The next scheduled property tax due date is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28.
For residents and businesses currently enrolled in the Pre-Authorized Payment (PAP) program, payments will continue to be withdrawn by the Town on the scheduled payment dates. PAP participants that would like to withdraw from the program can do so by emailing taxes@newmarket.ca. Please note that residents and businesses that withdraw would need to reapply to the program in the future.
In addition to the Financial Relief Program, the Town has a number of plans in place to support the community as a whole and particularly the most vulnerable in the community through a variety of programs and partnerships. The business community is also being strongly supported through the creation of the Business Assistance Concierge (BAC) program (a virtual business support and resiliency centre) and an overall Economic Resiliency Action Plan.
If you have any questions on the Financial Relief Program or the Town’s response to COVID-19, please contact the Town of Newmarket at 905-895-5193.
