SUNDRE – Sundre town council has passed a motion allowing for the deferral of utility payments for the months of April, May and June 2020 for residents and businesses financially affected by COVID-19.
The move came during a special council meeting conducted through teleconference on April 1.
Participants will be required to contact the town to arrange for a deferral agreement to qualify.
All councillors and mayor Terry Leslie voted in favour of the motion.
CAO Linda Nelson told council that the deferral of utilities does not mean that payments are forgiven or waived.
“It means that the payment is not due for a specified period of time, in this case for the months of April, May and June,” said Nelson.
“It is also critical to identify that the deferral is only for those business and residents who have been affected financially by the pandemic.”
Councillors also approved a deferral of tax installment payments for the months of April, May and June for those affected by COVID-19. Participants will also have to complete a deferral agreement with the town to quality.
Leslie said he hopes the deferrals will be helpful to qualified residents and businesses.
“This is an immediate short-term solution,” said Leslie. “Hopefully we don’t have to revisit this in three months but certainly we have the ability to do that with more information at that time.”
Coun. Rob Wolfe said, “We need to support our residents and we need to support each other. I’m very much in favour.”
The deferral agreements can be applied for by calling the town office or online, councillors heard.
Equipment replacement approved
In other news from the April 1 council meeting, councillors approved the spending of up to $161,642 for the replacement of a grinder used on inorganics in the town’s waste system.
Councillors also approved $50,000 for a pump replacement.
In both cases, the funds will come from the town’s infrastructure life-cycling restricted surplus account.
The April 1 special council meeting was conducted through teleconference in support of social distancing.
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