COVID-19 response the theme for Mayor Brain's Tax Statement message for 2020

Mayor Lee Brain has used the annual arrival of the City of Prince Rupert Tax bills to put the focus on the city's response to COVID-19, using the accompanying correspondence to provide an update on how City Council and administration have dealt with the challenges of the last six weeks.

In what is normally the space that the Mayor has used in the past to highlight some civic achievements and the work of Council in the first half of the year, this year all attention is devoted to the pandemic and its impact locally.

Among the themes that Mr. Brian explores, the work of local leaders and staff on keeping the community safe and maintaining essential services.

The Mayor also offers the City's thanks to the community for all that residents have done towards a response to the pandemic, as well as to thanks those providing essential services such as grocery store workers, care workers, sanitation workers those in transportation and port workers,

Towards a close, Mr. Brain highlights that there will be no tax increase for taxpayers this year, noting that a wider overview of the projects that the city will be working on this year will be provided as part of the City's Annual Report.

Mayor Brain's letter to Prince Rupert residents is part of the
property tax bill mailing currently underway in Prince Rupert.
(click to enlarge)

As we outlined on Friday, the City of Prince Rupert Tax bills began to arrive across the city, as part of the City's relay of information, city staff outlined their preference now for more distant options towards payment of the bills.

In the letter to residents, the City outlines the range of payment options that residents can use to pay their bills, most of them options that remove any potential personal contact between residents and city staffers.

The City posted the options to the City of Prince Rupert Facebook page as well.

Last week we made note of the new restrictions to access at City Hall, with the city having reopened their operations and allowing access to City Hall by way of an appointment only basis, limiting those in the building to one person at a time.

This years tax bills are required to be paid by July 2nd.

For more notes on the City's Financial themes see our archive page here.

A wider overview of past City Council Discussion themes can be found here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.