In an effort to help Niagara residents process all the information coming from our 12 municipalities and regional government, CKTB News has crunched the details, so to speak, to provide you with an up-to-date synopsis of what is happening in each of our cities and towns in the wake of COVID-19.
To date, the cities of St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, along with the Town of Lincoln have opted to give residents a grace period for payments. No late fees or interest penalties will be levied against any outstanding water or tax bills until June 30th. As well, all three municipalities have suspended any water disconnections due to non-payment until the end of June.
The City of St. Catharines has made all on street parking and parking in municipal lots free. On its website the city says they do not want people touching the metres and machines.
The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake also writes on its website, a decision is pending on whether late fees and penalties will be suspended on outstanding payments.
The remaining municipalities have no information on their website pertaining to late fees or penalties.
All 12 municipalities are asking residents to pay their municipal bills either online, by a mailed cheque or to use drop off boxes located outside city or town halls.
The Niagara Region has a long list of closures on its website, niagararegion.ca. It has also made a change regarding garbage pickup. As of March 25th, there will be no large item collection. All garbage must be placed in garbage bags and not loose in containers.
If you are doing some spring cleaning, take note, there is no drop off at the Walker Residential Drop-off Depot for recycling. The items are still being accepted in large open recycling containers for drop off at Humberstone Landfill (Welland) and Bridge Street Drop off Depot (Fort Erie) for recycling.
Regional Transit is now operating on a Saturday schedule.