CARROT RIVER—Carrot River council has made the decision to suspend water shutoffs due to non-payment until October.
“One of the thoughts and rationale behind that is the Town of Carrot River does not and has never charged interest on outstanding balances on the utility,” said Kevin Trew, Carrot River’s administrator. “One of the things we can do is suspend water shutoffs.”
Trew said this may serve as a cautionary tale, and warned residents that if they don’t keep on top of their bill, their bill will continue to go up with non-payment.
“Oct. 1 may come and you might have a significant water bill that you can’t manage. At that point there may be shutoffs.”
In addition to water shutoffs, council has suspended interest on property tax arrears for the duration of 2020 year.
“There was an interest on tax arrears on Jan. 1, 2020 that was already applied, and this means that still takes place however there will not be any interest on tax arrears until Jan. 1, 2021,” Trew said.
The town usually collects interest on property taxes in September, October and December. This change means interest will not be applied at these times.
“A couple of the council members said that there isn’t a lot we can do regarding tax arrears, however one thing that is in our arsenal or in our ability is we can suspend interest to help both individuals and businesses to get back on their feet.”
