The city's tax collectors would like a moment of your time and some of your cash for Utility payments

The City of Prince Rupert has rolled out this years request for payment on utility services, with the 2021 Utility bills now arriving in mailboxes across the community, this year heralding another increase for water, garbage and sewer services.

The schedule of Fee increases from 2021-2024 can be reviewed from the City's Agenda package of last December which provided the approval for the increases.

The deadline for payment is March 31st and for the most part the City would prefer that residents make payment by way of electronic means, offering up a few options to consider.

Of the three requests for payment, the one that may cause the most discussion for the public is the increase for water services, that coming with the community still under a water advisory first put in place in August of 2020  which was lifted for a period in September and then renewed in October, all related to the status of the water supply. 

Something which means endless boiling of water or the purchase of constant supplies of bottled water for many residents of the city.

As we noted earlier this month, some residents had suggested a bit of a break on the water fees this year owing to the ongoing issues related to the city's water, though it was a discussion that never made it into the Council chamber prior to the bills going into the mail this week.

You can review the evolution of our utility bills through the years below:

2020 -- Payment Due: City's Utility Bills begin to arrive across Prince Rupert
2019 -- Your mail call this week brings a tax call from the City of Prince Rupert
2018 -- March 30th the deadline for payment, as utilities bills hit the mail for Prince Rupert Residents
2017 -- Payment's Due! As city's utility bills arrive with March deadline
2016 -- City's first wave of taxation collection now underway
2015 -- City Service and Utility bills begin to drop into home owners mailboxes

Should you have questions related to the 2021 Utilities taxes you can contact City Hall at 250-627-0964.

The Utilities notice is the first of two tax regimens that the City has in the community, the next tax notice that will arrive in your mailbox comes in the late Spring, when the City of Prince Rupert mails out their property tax notices for the year.

What level of increase, if any to be assessed, will be determined later this year as City Council begins its Budget Discussion consultation period.

For more notes related to Taxation in Prince Rupert see our archive page here.

A wider overview of municipal issues is available from our Council Discussion page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.