With unanimous approval during Tuesday's regular meeting of North Bay City Council, the City of North Bay is introducing a property tax hardship program to assist residents who may be impacted as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
The application-based program is moving forward with an agreement in place with Low Income People Involvement of Nipissing (LIPI) for its delivery and administration.
“This program is aimed at providing financial assistance to help ease the burden on individuals and families who are facing financial challenges due to the pandemic,” said Deputy Mayor Tanya Vrebosch. “We are working to support property owners by offering assistance to those who need it most.”
The program, which is expected to start accepting applications by April 15, will provide payment assistance to eligible residential property owners whose primary residence is in tax arrears due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be funded using $300,000 in City reserves earmarked by Council during the 2021 budget process and will have no impact on the 2021 tax levy. The funds will be released for program use as requested, in $100,000 increments.
Applications will be accepted online, while in-person services will be dependent on COVID-19 restrictions. The program will require qualified applicants to meet the following criteria:
- Available to North Bay residents only
- Must be for primary residence (owner listed on title)
- Aid to be provided for 2020 final and 2021 interim property tax arrears due to impact of COVID-19
- Applications with property tax arrears prior to February 1, 2020 are not eligible for the program
- Resident must demonstrate the ability to maintain property taxes under normal circumstances
Resident must demonstrate significant impact to household income resulting from COVID-19 pandemic:
Impact defined as:
- Experienced, at minimum, a decrease of 50% of total household income during either of the lockdown periods outlined below in comparison to 2019 income levels during the same timeframe
Lockdown Periods defined as:
- Period 1 – March 23, 2020 to June 12, 2020
- Period 2 – December 26, 2020 to March 7, 2021
- Program will match taxpayer payments made to property tax account
- Maximum contribution of 50% of tax arrears determined at time of application
- LIPI will make payments directly to City on behalf of taxpayer
“LIPI welcomes the opportunity to assist North Bay households with property tax arrears. The past year has been challenging for everyone. While we are all excited about vaccines and moving forward, many of us are facing deferred bills and debt,” said LIPI Executive Director Lana Mitchell. “Please contact us at 705-472-1337 or online at lipinipissing.com with any questions or concerns.”
