City Hall to open to public, council to mull long-term plan to ease restrictions
Saskatoon residents can start paying their property tax bills in person next week, but the head of the city’s corporate revenue department doesn’t expect a huge influx of money.
While property taxes are usually due this month, the city deferred all tax and bill payments until the end of September, to create financial breathing room for those hit hard by the pandemic.
“I don’t expect we’ll see a typical June as far as people visiting to pay their property tax bill,” Mike Voth told reporters on a conference call.
“(But) I don’t anticipate any long-term reduction in property tax revenue for the year 2020,” he added.
City hall, which has been closed to the public since late March, reopens Monday in line with the third phase of the province’s plan to ease public health restrictions.
The city’s 347 outdoor playgrounds are expected to open on Friday.
However, it will be many months before life is back to normal, according to the phased reopening plan city council is expected to consider at a special meeting on Thursday.
The “Roadmap to Recovery” plan echoes the provincial reopening plan: there is no firm date for when leisure centres, arenas and public pools can open and transit capacity can increase.
The fourth phase also contemplates an “extended” work from home plan for city staff, and resumption of in-person engagement with residents on various projects.
The plan was developed on several assumptions, including no immediate access to a vaccine for COVID -19 and the fact pandemics typically last 12 to 18 months.
“We must be deliberate about how we ramp up and do so in a way that is successful for citizens and staff. We cannot simply ‘flip the switch,’ ” the report states.
Voth said six corporate revenue employees laid off in the early days of the pandemic have been rehired, and will accept payments at the customer service counter.
City hall will maintain its regular hours — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday — but the number of people inside will be limited, so there may be lineups outside.
The first hour of each day will be dedicated to seniors, vulnerable people and those with disabilities.
Monday will mark one week since the province began the third phase of its reopening plan, which includes restaurants, bars, places of worship and gyms.
An updated estimate on the total cost of the pandemic for the city is expected to go before city council later this month. The worst-case annual deficit was last pegged at $32.9 million.
LIBRARY PICKUP COMING MONDAY
It’s not clear when the Saskatoon Public Library’s branches will reopen to the public, but contactless pickup and drop-off starts on Monday.
Holds can be placed on materials beginning June 15. Users will be notified when their items are ready for pickup. At that point, they have seven days to make a pickup appointment. Users must bring their library cards to the appointments.
The loan period for all items is now 28 days, while the number of materials that can be checked out on one card will drop to 50.
Fees are not being charged for overdue items. The SPL warned people to hang on to their material so as not to overwhelm branches when returns resume.