Winnipeg declared a state of local emergency and waived tax penalties for up to three months amid the coronavirus pandemic at an emergency city council vote Friday.
The declaration of a local emergency gives the city sweeping, additional powers meant to prevent the loss of life within the city and protect essential services.
The powers include allowing the city to prohibit movement on city roads and giving it the ability to evacuate people and prohibit their movement from designated areas, according to the province’s emergency measures act.
However, the city has not decided to begin using those powers and any steps would be done in tandem with the province, the city’s emergency management boss, Asst. Chief Jay Shaw said on Friday.
Read the full list of powers here
Council also waived 2020 business and property tax penalties, which Mayor Brian Bowman has described as a means of easing the financial burden on Winnipeg taxpayers.
The tax measures are detailed in an administrative report prepared by city staff following a motion by Bowman and finance chair Coun. Scott Gillingham on March 20 as part of the 2020-23 budget vote.
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The fees on unpaid property taxes due June 30 are waived until Oct. 1, while the fees on unpaid business taxes due May 29 are waived until Sept. 1.
The city has also axed fees on its tax installment payment plan until Oct. 1, with no enrolment fee for the program and no penalty fees for participants with insufficient funds.
However, council did not waive taxes in full and the existing due dates are still in place. Gillingham implored people who can pay now to do so in an interview on CJOB Thursday.
The taxes will go toward paying for services like police, fire and paramedics as well as public utilities, Bowman told reporters Thursday.
Council also voted to hold its meetings virtually for the next 120 days amid the pandemic.
The tax measures will see the city lose an estimated $5.2 million in revenue, according to the staff report.
That report paints a stark picture of what the COVID-19 pandemic could do to city coffers.
If the COVID-19 crisis continues until the end of July, the city could lose an estimated $73.2 million, the report reads. If it only lasts until the end of April, the city could be $32.7 million in the red.
That includes an estimated potential drop of $25.2 million in bus fares.
The city is now looking at potentially reducing bus service to a Saturday schedule, with some additional feeder routes, Shaw said Friday.
The new low-income bus pass which was voted in during city budget deliberations has been pushed back — initially, it was supposed to launch April 1, but now it will launch in May, a city spokesperson said.
Those figures were calculated based on impact to tax revenue, massive losses in transit fares due to declining ridership, overtime payments and extra personal protective equipment for police, fire and paramedics, and a loss to permit and fee income, among other potential losses.
However, the report to council was prepared in just two weeks, and it notes the duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city are difficult to estimate.
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