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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBy-law No. 2004-051 THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM BY-LAW NO.2004-051 BEING A BY-LAW TO ADOPT A BILLING& COLLECTION POLICY WHEREAS the Council of the Municipality of Bayham is desirous of and recognizes the need for a clear and concise set of policies concerning billing and collection of taxes and utilities; THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM ENACTS AS FOLLOWS: 1. THAT effective upon passage the Policy on Billing and Collection of taxes and utilities attached hereto as Schedule"A"and forming part of this By-law is hereby adopted as the policies and procedures for billing and collection of taxes and utilities for the Municipality of Bayham. 2. THAT this Billing and Collection Policy By-law may be amended from time to time as directed and deemed necessary by the Council of the Corporation of the Municipality of Bayham. 3. THAT By-law 98-41 prescribing regulations for the collection of taxes and utilities, as amended, or any billing and collection of taxes and utilities policies previously adopted are hereby repealed; 4. AND THAT this by-law shall come into full force and effect upon final passing. READ A FIRST,SECOND AND THIRD TIME AND FINALLY PASSED THIS 17TH DAY OF JUNE 2004. MAYO ' CLERK Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM Billing and Collection Policy Taxes and Utilities This policy is to provide guidance to staff and to provide a basis for decision-making relating to the billing and collection of taxes and utilities for all ratepayers in the Municipality of Bayham. The guidelines in this policy serve to supplement the provincial legislation that govern this area, especially for situations where provincial legislation provides a choice,allows for Council/Treasurer discretion and for issues on which the legislation is silent. Legislation which should be reviewed within the context of this policy is the Municipal Act, 2001 with particular attention to Parts VIII, IX,X, and Xl. This policy is set to ensure prompt billing of the tax levy to meet the budgetary expenditures of the Municipality. It will also ensure the prompt billing of utility charges to meet the budgetary expenditures of the water and sewer systems of the Municipality. The collection procedures are set to ensure that the means and methods are consistent, effective and appropriate and within the requirements of the legislation. 1.0 Authority to Accept Money a) Tax and utility accounts shall be collected by staff at the municipal office during regular office hours only. Members of Council shall not receive money on behalf of the Municipality under any circumstances. b) Payment shall be made via cash, personal cheques, money orders, bank drafts, certified cheques, preauthorised payments, internet or telephone banking. Personal cheque privileges may be revoked by staff if a ratepayer has had three or more NSF cheques in the past year or less. Personal chequing privileges will be reinstated after twenty-four months. Under no circumstances will third party personal cheques be accepted. c) The municipality will accept Government cheques; however, excess money over and above the amount owing upon the account being paid will, under no circumstances, be refunded in the form of cash. The full amount of the cheque will be credited to the ratepayer's account. d) Cheques post-dated to the tax and/or utility due date will be accepted and held by municipal staff. e) No individual Council member shall interfere with the duty and procedures of staff to collect money on behalf of the municipality. Preferential treatment of any and all ratepayers will not be made without the full and formal consent of Council. 2.0 Taxation 2.1 Billing a) Council is required to pass a levying by-law in advance of both the interim and the final tax billing. b) The interim tax billing shall be produced in February based on 50% of the annualised taxes of the property for the previous calendar year. The tax billing may include local improvement charges, area charges, business improvement area charges and any other special charges levied by the municipality or provincial government. Outstanding charges authorized by legislation may be added to the interim billing at one hundred percent. The interim bill will fully comply with all legislated requirements for form and content. Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 c) The final tax billing shall be produced subsequent to the passing of the annual municipal budget and are based on tax rates established by by-law from the budget requirements of the municipality, the County of Elgin and the Ministry of Finance. The tax billing will be calculated to produce a tax billing equal to the current value assessment and the appropriate tax rate, all local improvement charges, area charges, business improvement charges and any other special charges levied by the municipality or provincial government. The tax bill will fully comply with the Standardized Tax Bill format as defined by legislation. d) Arrears are included solely on the first instalment due date amount. Instalment due dates will be indicated on the payment stubs. 2.2 Collection a) Staff shall prepare a summary tax arrears listing no later than 5 working days after the end of each month for review by the Treasurer. Detailed listings shall be produced at the request of the Treasurer and at year-end for audit purposes. b) Late notices will be issued at the beginning of each month after the penalties and interest have been calculated and added to the accounts. The notice shall be in accordance to Appendix 1.1 of this policy. Late notices for$5.00 or less will not be issued as it is not cost effective. c) Notwithstanding the forgoing,late notices will not be issued the months that tax notices are issued (usually February and August). However,tax arrears owing at the time of billing are included on each tax notice. d) Penalty and interest rates for late payment are set by Municipal By-Law under the provisions of the Municipal Act, section 345. The purpose of penalty is to persuade ratepayers to pay on time. Penalty and interest shall be charged as set out in the legislation. e) Properties that are in arrears for three years are eligible for tax registration under the Municipal Act. The property owner or interested party has one year from the date of registration in which to redeem the property for all taxes, interest and penalty outstanding, including any associated costs incurred during the tax registration/tax sale process. A contracted tax registration firm is used to process the required statutory notices and/or declarations. An administration fee associated with this process is in addition to the charges by the third party firm and will be defined in the Rates and Fees By-Law of the Municipality. f) The following additional tools are available to assist in the collection of realty taxes: i) Reminder notices ii) Form or personalized letters iii) Telephone follow-up iv) Interviews v) Title Searches—interested party notification g) Each June, letters shall be issued to all ratepayers who are more than one year in arrears but not more than two years in arrears. These letters shall inform the ratepayer of the tax arrears situation and request that payment arrangements be made to avoid further tax collection efforts being undertaken that would result in additional charges being placed on the tax account. The letter shall be similar in form and content to Appendix 1.2 of this policy. h) Each November,letters shall be issued to all ratepayers who will be more than two years in arrears as of January 1st of the following year and do not have payment arrangements with the municipal office. These letters shall inform the ratepayer of the Municipality's intent to perform a title search and notify any mortgage holders or interested parties of the tax arrears situation and that all costs will be added to their tax account if the ratepayer fails to reply. The letter shall be similar in form and content to Appendix 1.3 of this policy Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 i) A detailed tax arrears listing of all properties more than two years in arrears but not yet in tax sale position shall be made within 5 working days of December 30 of each year. The Treasurer shall review this list in detail. A title search may be done and the mortgage holder(s)or interested party(ies) is then notified in writing of the outstanding taxes and payment in full is requested. All costs incurred to perform the title search and an administration fee associated with this process, defined in the Rates and Fees By-Law of the Municipality, will be added to the tax account. j) Each June,letters shall be issued to all ratepayers who will be in a position for tax sale proceedings to commence January 1st of the following year. These letters shall inform the ratepayer of the possibility of a tax sale and request that payment arrangements be made to avoid tax sale proceedings. The letter shall be similar in form and content to Appendix 1.4 of this policy. k) Each November, letters shall be issued to all ratepayers who will be in a position for tax sale proceedings to commence January 1St of the following year. These letters shall inform the ratepayer of the possibility of a tax sale, the date that proceedings would commence and the consequences of the proceedings. The letter shall request that the ratepayer contact the Tax Clerk or Treasurer immediately to discuss possible payment arrangements to avoid tax sale proceedings. The letter shall be similar in form and content to Appendix 1.5 of this policy. 1) A detailed tax arrears listing of all properties in tax sale position shall be made within 5 working days of December 31st of each year. The Treasurer shall review this list in detail. All ratepayers that have not made payment arrangements with the municipality maybe assigned to tax sale. The municipality shall use the services of a tax registration company for all tax sale procedures. m) Every effort shall be made by the Tax Clerk and/or the Treasurer to arrive at mutually agreeable arrangements for payment of tax accounts with the ratepayer. Arrangements shall be documented in writing and signed by both the ratepayer and the Tax Clerk or Treasurer. The arrangements shall be set out in similar form and content to Appendix 1.6 of this policy. 3.0 Utilities 3.1 Billing a) Council is required to review and establish water and sewer billing rates every year. Users shall be notified of any rate changes by a notice included with their invoice. b) Meter readings, where available, shall be taken at the end of each of the following months: February August April October June December Meter readings shall be performed by either staff or an approved contractor, as directed by council. c) Invoices shall be produced at the beginning of each month following a meter reading for both metered and non-metered users of both the water and sewer systems. These invoices shall be at the rates established by by-law and shall be due on the last business day of the same month as issuance. 3.2 Collection a) Staff shall prepare a summary utility arrears listing no later than 5 working days after each billing due date to be reviewed by the Treasurer. Detailed listings shall be produced at the request of the Treasurer and at year-end for audit purposes. Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 b) Late charges shall be added to each account not yet paid in the amount of 5%no later than the third business day following the due date. No further late charges shall be imposed after the initial charge. c) Late notices will be sent no later than 5 working days after the due date of the original billing and after late charges have been calculated and added to the accounts. The notice shall be similar in form and content to Appendix 2.1 of this policy. For Ratepayers with Sewer Service Only d) Each January and July,detailed listings of arrears shall be produced. Those ratepayers who are more than two full billings in arrears shall have their outstanding balances added to their tax accounts in accordance with s.398(2) of the Municipal Act, 2001 and shall be notified by letter of the amount added to their tax account. The letter shall be similar in form and content to Appendix 2.2 of this policy. e) Further collection shall be in accordance with the collection of taxes detailed in section 2.2 above. For Ratepayers with Water Service or Water and Sewer Service f) No later than 5-7 business days following the initial late notice(part(c)above), a second late notice shall be issued detailing the amount owing, the time frame in which to pay and that their service may be disrupted for failure to pay by the stipulated due date. The letter shall be similar in form and content to Appendix 2.3 of this policy. g) Final notice shall be issued 5-7 business days following the second late notice(part(1) above), and shall be delivered in person to the applicable property,providing details of the amount owing,the 48-hour payment period and that disruption of service would occur the following day if payment was not received. h) Further, if the ratepayer is a tenant,the property owner shall also be given notice(along with part(f) above) of the arrears and that the service will be disrupted if not paid by the due date. The notice shall include a reminder that the property owner is ultimately responsible for the utility charges. The letter shall be similar in form and content to Appendix 2.4 of this policy. i) Water service shall be terminated the second day following the delivery of the final notice for any ratepayer who has not submitted payment or made payment arrangements with the Municipal office. Reinstatement of service shall occur once payment in full plus an administration fee, defined in the Rates and Fees By-Law of the Municipality,is received by Municipal staff. j) If the municipality is required to issue a final notice at least twice in the past twelve months,then any further failure to pay by the initial due date will result in the following modifications to the collection procedures. a. Following part 3.2(b) above, a final notice shall be issued no later than 5 working days after the due date of the original billing and after late charges have been calculated and added to the accounts. b. This final notice shall be delivered in person to the applicable property,providing details of the amount owing,the 5-7 business day payment period and that disruption of service would occur the following day if payment was not received. c. Further, if the ratepayer is a tenant, the property owner shall also be given notice of the arrears and that the service will be disrupted if not paid by the due date. The notice shall include a reminder that the property owner is ultimately responsible for the utility charges. The letter shall be similar in form and content to Appendix 2.4 of this policy. d. Water service shall be terminated the day stipulated in the final notice(2. above) for any ratepayer who has not submitted payment or made payment arrangements with the Municipal office. Reinstatement of service shall occur once payment in full plus an administration fee, defined in the Rates and Fees By-Law of the Municipality, is received by Municipal staff. Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 k) Upon termination of tenancy, any deposit held by the Municipality shall be applied to the account. If the full deposit is not required, any amount remaining after application to the outstanding balance shall be returned to the tenant. If the tenant does not provide a forwarding address or does not appear in person at the Municipal office, the balance of the deposit shall revert to the property owner 30 days after the application of the deposit. I) If a balance remains outstanding after the deposit is applied,that amount shall be applied to the tax roll and a letter shall be issued to the property owner of such action. Further collection shall be in accordance with section 2.2 above. The letter shall be similar in form and content to Appendix 2.5 of this policy. m) If, following a termination of tenancy,the tenant forthwith leases another property or unit within the municipality and notifies our office of such new lease, the Municipality will make one attempt to collect any remaining balance from the ratepayer via a letter of notice. Otherwise, action under part (1) above will be followed. Further,the tenant will be required to submit a new deposit for their new location as set out in the Water& Sewer Rates by-law. 1ndry I -l MUNICIPALIT`!OF BAYHAM UNPAID TAXES PO BOX 160 9344 PLANK ROAD STRAFFORDVILLE ON NEU 1Y0 MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM imummuiROIL Nur. STATEMENT DATE [ ROLL NUMBER J November 10,2003 TAXATION YEAR 2003 2002 2001 2000 Total TAXES ANOAR 0,02 0.00 0.00 0�0 0.02 OTHER CHARGES STATEMENT DATE N PENALTY INTEREST mutt 01}0 0.W U.VV U17V November 10,2003 TOTAL DUE k rr0.02 / Please.pay prior to November 30103 to avoid / TOTAL AMOUNT DUE MAIL further interest charges. $0.02 ) TO L PLEASE RETURN THIS STUB WITH YOUR PAYMENT IFA RECEIPT IS REQUIRED,RETURN :,INFilla NOTICE WITHOUT DETACHING STUB (INCLUDE A STAMPED ADDRESSED RETURN ENVELOPE) PROPERTY DESCRIPTION RECEIPT NOT VALID UNTIL CHEQUE CLEARED EaO.E. Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 Billing& Collection Policy Appendix 1.2 June 7,2004 John Doe PO Box Straffordville ON NOJ 1Y0 Dear Mr. Doe, Please find enclosed an arrears notice for your property,roll#3401-000-000-00000-0000. Your account is in serious arrears. Please contact the municipal office to make payment arrangements to bring your account into good standing. Further collection efforts will result in additional charges being placed on your account. You may contact me at the above number to make the appropriate arrangements or if you have any further questions. Yours truly, Suzanna Mantel, CGA Treasurer Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 Billing& Collection Policy Appendix 1.3 November 7, 2004 John Doe PO Box Straffordville ON NOJ 1Y0 Dear Mr. Doe, Please find enclosed an arrears notice for your property, roll #3401-000-000-00000-0000. Your account will be more than two years in arrears as of January 1, 20 . Please contact the municipal office to make payment arrangements to bring your account into good standing. Failure to respond to this letter will result in further collection efforts being undertaken and will result in additional charges being placed on your account. It is the intent of the Municipality to undertake a title search to determine if there are any mortgage holders or interested parties registered on title and to inform them of your tax arrears situation. We will at that time request that the mortgage holder make payment on your behalf. You may contact me at the above number to make the appropriate arrangements or if you have any further questions. Yours truly, Suzanna Mantel, CGA Treasurer Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 Billing& Collection Policy Appendix 1.4 June 7, 2004 John Doe PO Box Straffordville ON NOJ 1Y0 Dear Mr. Doe, Please find enclosed an arrears notice for your property, roll #3401-000-000-00000-0000. This property will be in tax sale position in the near future. It is in your best interest to bring your account into good standing as soon as possible to avoid a tax sale. Should a tax sale be engaged all associated costs will be charged directly to your account. You may contact me at the above number to make the appropriate arrangements or if you have any further questions. Yours truly, Suzanna Mantel, CGA Treasurer Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 Billing& Collection Policy Appendix 1.5 November 7, 2004 John Doe PO Box Straffordville ON NOJ 1Y0 Dear Mr. Doe, Please find enclosed an arrears notice for your property, roll#3401-000-000-00000-0000. Please note that the tax sale process for this property will commence January 2, 20 . The tax sale process is costly and all charges will be placed directly on your tax account. This is your final notice,if no response is received we will proceed January 2, 20 . Yours truly, Suzanna Mantel, CGA Treasurer Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 Collection Policy Appendix 1.6 Payment agreement between the Municipality of Bayham and Ratepayer for Property Taxes at Address. As the property owners, we agree to remit a series of post-dated cheques in the amount of $XXX.XX each, cashable every weeks. We agree that if even one cheque is returned NSF, this payment agreement is hereby terminated and that property tax sale proceedings will commence immediately. We understand and agree that altering payment terms is not acceptable and will constitute a breach of this agreement and that this agreement will terminate and that property tax sale proceedings will commence immediately. (i.e. We cannot request that a cheque dated Friday not be cashed until Monday. However, we can exchange any cheque for cash.) This agreement is intended to provide full payment for the following charges: Current Balance $XXX.XX Estimated 200 Taxes $XXX.XX Estimated Penalty& Interest $ XX.XX Total Charges to be Paid $XXX.XX Number of$XXX payments required _ The number of payments required maybe more or less than noted above based on actual 200_ taxes and actual penalty&interest charged over the term of this agreement. If fewer payments are required, extra cheques will be returned to yourselves,uncashed. If more cheques are required, we will notify you by letter. 200_property taxes are not included in the above payment terms. It is expected that, once caught up,you will make every attempt to remain current with your property taxes. Ratepayer Ratepayer Treasurer Municipality of Bayham A cpard iv a.I irtil lr\llClPt1L1TYF 6/11�HNIvi I STATEMENT OF ARREARS 9:4 fl PLANK ROAD T J [FOR,DVIL LE ON - ' _ - ; Account Humber 1,.j I `r't 1 Statement Date: 12/05/2003 1Balance Due: 321.84 Amount Enclosed: bcrg\50tlin.) BC •s-Lifts t\hu_E ars i.) 5 ) qp Please detach and return this portion rYAh your payment. 1);,-....-.v =. . - Balance Forward 321.84 rt.fi � F1R z {� i� Please note that your account is in arrears in the 514-...p4:9!.-41,, above said amount. Please make arrangments to pay this account by December 12,2003. Current 31 -60 61-90 Over 90 0.00 321.84 0.00 0.00 A finance charge of 5.00%is added to all overdue balances. MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM E.&O.E. Telephone- 519 866-5521 Schedule "A" to By-law 2004-051 Billing& Collection Policy Appendix 2.2 February 7, 2004 John Doe PO Box Straffordville ON NOJ 1Y0 Dear Mr. Doe, Please note that your current balance owing on your water/sewer account in the amount of $ has been added to your property tax account and will be collected in the same manner as taxes. If you should have any questions with regards to this matter please feel free to call. Yours truly, Suzanna Mantel, CGA Treasurer