The City of Beaumont announced new measures on Tuesday to ease the financial burden of people in the community struggling amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
The city is allowing both residents and businesses who are enduring financial difficulties the option to “delay City of Beaumont water, wastewater and garbage collection bills and property tax payments,” the municipality said in a news release.
“Beaumont city council is taking these actions to support our residents and businesses,” Mayor John Stewart said.
“Whether people lost their jobs or their incomes were cut, we want to do our part to help ease their financial burden during this trying time.”
READ MORE: Here’s how to apply for EI and the new COVID-19 emergency benefit
Payment of city water, wastewater and waste collection bills can be put off until Sept. 30 without penalty, the city said. Those who delay payments until then will not have any service cut off.
“Bills will continue to be sent, but residents who do not pay them now can arrange a flexible repayment schedule with the city later,” the city noted.
Property tax payments can also be delayed without penalty for the same time period.
“Those on the monthly property tax plan can also choose to withdraw from it and instead pay a lump sum of the remainder of their taxes by Sept. 30,” the city said.
Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ coverage of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in Alberta.
According to the city, the new measures are aimed at complementing support initiatives already being implemented by the provincial government; the ongoing health crisis has seen many people unable to work because of illness, self-isolation in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19 or layoffs resulting from businesses hurt by the pandemic.
“The City of Beaumont and its contractors have plans in place to ensure residents continue to receive essential services, such as fire protection, policing and garbage collection,” the city said.
For more details, click here.
Just last week, the City of Beaumont activated its emergency co-ordination centre to respond to the coronavirus crisis.
On Tuesday, health officials announced a second person in Alberta had died as a result of the pandemic and that the province now has 358 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
READ MORE: Alberta sees 2nd death connected to COVID-19, confirms 358 total cases
To learn more about how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and where to access support, click here.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Health officials say the risk is low for Canadians but warn this could change quickly. They caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are asked to self-isolate for 14 days in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. And if you get sick, stay at home.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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