Council has decided to let a program designed to help residents financially during the COVID-19 pandemic expire.
Peace River Town Council agreed to give residents a 90-day period at its meeting on April 14 where penalties for late payments would be waived during that period.
Mayor Tom Tarpey says there were not many accounts with outstanding balances for their water bills.
“There were not too many accounts in arrears so we decided to wind down the deferral program,” says Tarpey.
According to a town document shown to council, the penalty would come back for the billing period for July 20 at the original rate of 1.5 percent.
The document goes on to say that accounts receivable for utilities are up $30,276 as of May 31 (or 6.6 percent) when compared to last year on the same day.
However, water usages rates increased by approximately 10 percent compared to the town says without that amount, receivables would be similar to last year.
Tarpey adds that while council decided to let to the 90-day deferral period expire, the issue could be revisited if need be.
“If residents come forward and say they need more time, we could look into that,” concludes Tarpey.
Click here to see the document presented in council chambers.
– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom
