Salmon Arm property taxes should be in the mail ahead of any potential labour disruption at Canada Post.
The city is aiming to have property tax notices well before mid-May – and not on or before May 23 as was shared by the city in an April 25 post on social media.
Staff explained efforts were made to have the notices out before May 22, when the collective agreement expires between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).
"Pretty much all the municipalities in B.C. have been trying to stay ahead of the looming threat… it's meant a lot of council meetings being moved up and things like that to get our tax rates passed in due time to allow mail outs to happen," said city accounting clerk Cindy Sholinder.
While not a taxing authority, the prospect of labour action at Canada Post prompted the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) to issue a notice for utility customers and goods and service suppliers. Should job action begin on May 22, the CSRD warned this would lead to delays in mail delivery.
As a result, customers are urged to pay their bills electronically (online bill payment), and suppliers are urged to submit invoices by email, and to sign up for Direct Deposit invoice payment," said the CSRD in the May 8 notice.
For water customers, the CSRD said payment by mail should be submitted well in advance of the due date, or payment could be submitted electronically, through online banking, by credit card online with OptionPay (fees apply), or by Interac e-transfer. Utility bills can also be paid in person with cash, cheque or debit at the CSRD office in Salmon Arm at 555 Harbourfront Drive NE.
CSRD utility customers can also sign up for e-billing by contacting utilities@csrd.bc.ca.
Goods and services providers are asked to submit invoices to accounts payable by email: finance@csrd.bc.ca.
Salmon Arm property taxes can be paid in person (cash, cheque or debit, money order or post-dated cheque payable to City of Salmon Arm). Payment can also be left in the drop box at city hall. Payments made after 4 p.m. will be considered the following day. Payment can also be made electronically through your bank, with Salmon Arm (City of) Property Taxes selected as the Payee. Your city account number, located on the property tax notice, is required. For more information, visit salmonarm.ca/246/Payment-Options.
In a May 2 update on negotiations, CUPW said it had returned to the bargaining table with Canada Post in Ottawa.
"The meetings were facilitated by two Mediators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services who are very familiar with our file," said the CUPW, noting many issues remained unresolved from meetings in December, January, and March. "This week, the parties agreed to discuss a list of items that had been partially agreed to in previous discussions, with the aim of finalizing them as a way to restart and reinvigorate the discussions. We did not address the issues where significant differences remain this week."
