WHEREAS Section 405 (3) of The Municipalities Act states: “At the end of a year in which work or services mentioned in subsection (1) were performed, the municipality may: (a) add to any arrears of taxes on land owned by a person in the municipality any amount with respect to such work or services performed for that person that remains unpaid at the end of the year;”

WHEREAS this gives administrators two options for any invoices that occur in late November or December:

• Add any outstanding invoices to taxes as of December 31, which means they will start accruing interest on January 1, or
• Have no recourse to collect for the invoice except to pursue the collection via the court system;

WHEREAS it seems unfair to have a ratepayer pay interest on custom work that occurs on December 28 if he or she pays the bill on January 3;

BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the government to amend Section 405 (3) of The Municipalities Act to state: “Within twelve months of which work or services mentioned in subsection (1) were performed, the municipality may: (a) add to any arrears of taxes on land owned by a person in the municipality any amount with respect to such work or services performed for that person that remains unpaid.”

View response from the Ministry of Government Relations