There are more important things to think about than how you will pay your utility bill during this time, and the city is giving you more time to make that payment.
If you don’t see your utility bill in the mail this month, you weren’t forgotten or missed. At a special meeting called to address the pending water billing period, Selkirk Council decided to issue quarter one utility bills May 15, one month later than the scheduled April 15 date.
Council also doubled the payment deadline so that citizens will have two months to make their payment. That means the deadline for quarter one utility bills is July 15.
“Some families and businesses might have a limited income during this time. Reducing the stress of how they’re going to pay their water bill is something we are able to do to help,” said Mayor Larry Johansson.
“We want to reduce the stress some people are experiencing. We also don’t want to encourage people to leave their homes to pay their water bill. This makes it easier for some to make that decision to stay home”
Stay safe, go online
To keep staff safe, the city has closed the doors to the Civic Centre at 200 Eaton Ave., which is where a lot of citizens went to pay their utility bills.
The city’s Chief Administrative Officer Duane Nicol says that this may pose a problem for some citizens, but citizens can pay their water bills quite easily through the online banking services offered by all banks and credit unions.
“The process is quite simple. It takes about two minutes for someone to set up and pay their first bill. It is quite convenient and at this time really helps people to stay home and observe physical distancing” said Nicol
Nicol said that if you need a little help setting up your online utility bill payments, the city has an instructional video and instructions on how to set it up on their website www.myselkirk.ca/billpayment.
You can also contact the city’s CitizenSupport Representatives or your financial institution and they will help you in the set-up process.
What’s next?
Nicol also indicated that City Council will be giving consideration to a proposal to deferring 2020 property tax payments in the near future.
“Right now, we’re getting some clarity from the Provincial Government about education taxes and their recent direction on waiving penalty charges and looking at the financial impact these changes and a potential deferral will have on the city. That’s all critical information Council will need to have to give this a proper review. But it’s certainly something Council is thinking about and will be considering.”
