Town councillors putting stop to transportation tax
Residents of Lake Country in financial distress because of COVID-19 have been given a $25 break by the municipality.
Town council agreed this week not to proceed with plans to increase a special transportation tax, levied on all properties, from $125 to $150.
Council also agreed to push back the property tax payment deadline to Sept. 2 from July 2, and to permit water bill payments to be made four months later than usual without penalty.
“The changes provide shortterm financial relief so that citizens can focus on their immediate essential needs,” Mayor James Baker said in a news release.
Council has previously approved a nearly six per cent hike in municipal taxes for 2020. The release issued Thursday by the town does not indicate whether any efforts are being made to reduce that tax increase.
However, municipal layoffs do not seem to be under consideration in Lake Country.
Instead, town workers whose normal routines have been affected by the pandemic will be re-deployed to other duties, Baker says.
“Council has been asked by the community if layoffs of district staff will be required,” Baker said. “Several municipalities have been forced to lay off workers while spring programs are postponed and facilities are closed. (Lake Country) does not employ any permanent parttime recreation program, parks, or facilities like other communities. Hiring has been suspended for current vacancies and staff resources have been reallocated where needed to ensure continuity and fiscal effectiveness in delivery of essential services to the community.”
The town of about 15,000 people has more than 150 employees, the municipality’s website states.
With the planned municipal tax hike of 5.9 per cent, which includes funding a new firehall approved in a referendum, the owner of a typical single-family home in Lake Country will have to pay an extra $123 above their 2019 rate of approximately $2,072.