麻豆AV Councillor Ron Cannan is calling on the city to show leniency toward residents and business owners who miss the property tax deadline.
At council鈥檚 July 21 meeting, he explained that he had been approached by some residents who had missed the July 2 deadline for 鈥渓egitimate reasons, a mistake, or oversight.鈥�
In the City of 麻豆AV, a 10 per cent penalty applies to all unpaid balances after July 2.
鈥淥ur council does have an option, so I believe it's reasonable for council to use the only tool available in the community charter, which is to introduce a more compassionate policy," Cannan said.
He suggested a two-stage approach that applies a five per cent penalty after the property tax due date of July 2 and another five per cent after a grace period of 60 days.
Coquitlam, Surrey, Richmond, Saanich and Langford all have a two-stage penalty system, Cannan noted.
Cannan brought forward a similar motion, which was adopted, when he was on council in 2001.
鈥淚n 2020, the council of the day...eliminated the two-stage penalty due to increased postage and administrative costs as per a staff report.鈥�
Cannan said he will submit a notice of motion at an upcoming meeting to allow council to vote on the proposal.
