Terry Ungarian says we are currently making history locally and around the world.
The Reeve of the County of Northern Lights is referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, and like many other local elected officials, Ungarian says he has never seen anything like this in his lifetime.
“This is totally unprecedented,” reflects Ungarian. “I think we are making history right now with the state of the whole world. This is something we have never seen in our lifetimes and hopefully something we never have to go through again.”
At a recent council meeting, Ungarian says the county wants to help ease the financial burden on residents and businesses by offering deferral of utility payments until June 30, without the fear of having services cut off.
“The financial fallout is going to be huge,” points out Ungarian. “We see people getting laid off, stock markets and investments are all crashing, so in light of all that, council has made the decision to defer utility payments for a three-month period and then we will review it at that time”.
Ungarian also says council approved a deferral for property taxes as well, which he says will defer any late-payment fees until November.
Northern Lights is also following a similar path that other municipal governments are all over Alberta.
Office locations are closed, but Ungarian reminds residents that staff is on hand to take phone calls and respond to e-mails.
– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom
