Township council decided to extend the deadline to May 31 as part of its municipal contingency plan review on local impact of the pandemic.

“And we won’t be applying any interest charges on payments up to May 31,” said Mayor Stéphane Sarrazin.

Administration for Russell Township and the Municipality of Casselman are reviewing the tax payment deferral issue for a later report to their respective councils.

In East Hawkesbury the property tax deadline is still March 31 but township staff is reviewing whether or not to recommend a deferral option to council. Meanwhile Chief Administrator Luc Lalonde noted that residents can either phone or email the municipal office if they think they may need an extension on their tax payments because of any financial stress caused by the pandemic.

Staff for the City of Clarence-Rockland are reviewing the impact of a possible deferment of payment option for property taxes and also water and sewer fees for a report to council March 25.

The deadline for property taxes is still March 31 in The Nation Municipality. Residents can make their payments via the exterior dropbox at The Nation municipal office or through electronic billing via the municipal website.

Champlain Township has three deadlines for its property tax payment schedule. The first deadline was February 28. The next ones are the end of July and the end of September. Township Chief Administrator Paula Knudsen noted that many residents use a pre-authorized electronic payment plan for their property taxes.

Hawkesbury council held a special morning meeting March 20, to consider the issue. Council approved a resolution that no interest or penalty charges on property tax payments would take effect until May 31. That also applies to any delayed payments for water and sewer service fees or other municipal user fees, business permit approval payments and dog tags.

The finance department for the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) will present UCPR council with a report at its March 25 general meeting with a recommendation about deferring the property tax deadline. All eight municipalities are responsible for collecting the UCPR share of the annual property tax from homeowners, business owners and others in the region, and forwarding the money to the UCPR.

If UCPR council approves the finance department’s recommendation, the first deadline for municipalities to forward the UCPR share of the property tax would be pushed back to the end of April. This would allow both Prescott-Russell property owners and municipalities some financial « breathing space » during the COVID-19 pandemic..