HomeMy WebLinkAboutTR-61-92 THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE
REPORT
Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE File#
Date: July 6, 1992 Res.
By-Law#
Report#: TR-61-92 File#:
Subject: TAX PAYMENTS
Recommendations:
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and
Administration Committee recommend to Council the following:
1. That report TR-61-92 be received for information,
2 . That the method of paying current taxes be amended
to allow payments to be made at all branches of
all banks and most trust companies within the
Region of Durham (subject to the individual
financial institution's acceptance policies)
rather than exclusively with the Bank of Nova
Scotia,
3 . That the Bank of Nova Scotia and all Chartered
Banks and major Trust Companies within the Region
of Durham be notified of Council's decision,
4 . That the ratepayers be notified of the change in
payment procedures by advertising the change in
all local newspapers prior to the September
instalment.
BACKGROUND & COMMENTS:
1 . Since the final 1992 tax notices were mailed June
4, 1992 there have been a significant number of
phone calls with regards to the payment of taxes.
In particular the major concern was with respect
to the payment of taxes being restricted to any
branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia.
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TR-61-92 Page 2
2 . The Banking Services Report TR-18-92 (attachment
#1 for reference) which was passed March 16, 1992
outlined the following as the acceptable methods
for making tax payments:
1) By mail .
2) In person at the Municipal Administrative Centre.
3) Through the mortgage companies .
4) At any branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia.
3 . As it was explained in Report TR-18-92, dealing
with one bank as opposed to several leads to an
interest savings since, we are guaranteed that tax
payments made at the Bank of Nova Scotia will be
deposited into the town's account within 24 hours
of a payment being made. There is also a
substantial time savings if one bank is doing the
processing.
4 . However, there have been complaints that the new
banking arrangements are inconvenient particularly
to senior citizens who live in the areas in and
around Orono and Newcastle Village where there are
no branches of the Bank of Nova Scotia. Without
transportation it is difficult for many to obtain
a ride into Bowmanville. In addition some do not
have chequing accounts and therefore, cannot mail
in payments by cheque. It has also been brought
to our attention that some banks offer free
banking to their senior customers .
5 . Staff feel that Council may wish to amend the
original proposals put forward in TR-18-92 and
choose option #1 which would allow the tax
payments to revert back to the previous method of
payment at any Branch of the Chartered Banks and
most Trust Companies within the Durham Region.
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CONCLUSION
It is recommended that the payment of current taxes be amended to
allow current taxes to be payable at all branches of all banks and
trust companies in the Region, and than this change be effective for
the September tax instalment.
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TR-61-92 Page 3
Respectfully submitted, Recommended for presentation
to the Committee
--6- w�'
G j~
Marie A. Marano, H.BSc . , A.M.C.T. Lawrence E. Kots ff
Treasurer Chief Administrati Officer
MAM/RS/yam
Attachment
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AT%ChKM -#1 .
THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN'OF NEWCASTLE
REPORT
Meeting: File#
GENERAL PURPOSE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
Date: Res.#
March 16; -1992 By-Law#
Report#: File#: .. . ..
TR-18-92
Subject:
BANKING SERVICES
Recommendations:
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose ands
Administration Committee recommend to Council the following:
1. That report TR-18-92 be .received;
20 the*'contract for banking services for the Town of
Newcastle be awarded to the Bank of Nova Scotia;
3. That the contract be awarded for a three year term to
expire on December 31, 1994,
4. That the Town of Newcastle reserves the right to renew
the contract upon expiry, on a month .by.month basis for a
maximum period, of.one year. with the -rate of charges to be
adjusted in- accordance with 'the prevailing-Consumer, Price
Index;
5. That taxes outstanding be payable in the following manner:
1) By mail to the Municipal Administration Centre
2) Through the mortgage companies
3) At any branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia within the
Region of Durham
6. That .Staff be authorized. to pursue different means of tax
collection which might include direct access to customer
accounts for payment on a monthly basis for possible
introduction in 1993;
7. That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to sign all
appropriate documentation; and
8. That the Bank of Nova Scotia be notified of Council's
decisions .
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RECYCLED PAER
PAPER � P RECYCLE .,
TR-18-92
Page 3
3.3 This method change in fact cost the municipality in terms of
lost interest because the payments made directly to the bank
were credited to the Town's account immediately. Under the
present method of payment there is a one or sometimes a two
day turnaround period before the monies collected either at:
other banks or the Municipal Administrative Centre are
credited to the Town's account.
4.0 Cost to Municipality:
4.1 In 1991 the typical methods of payment during the peak.
instalment periods were approximately as follows:
# Bills % Total
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. Mortgage Company Payments 4,640 29 %
. Paid at all Banks 3,520 22 %
. Paid through mail 3,840 24 '%
. Over the counter in person 4,000 25 %
Total 16,000 100 %
Seventy-five percent of all tax payments are made by
methods other than over the counter.
4.2 The estimated additional cost to the Municipality
attributable to the method of payment of taxes can be
summarized in the following options:
Annual
Estimate:
Option 1: - Estimated cost attributable
to payments made over the counter and
all banks within the Region:
. 47% of lost interest re: turn around
time $ 91500
. Overtime cost to process over counter 3,000
. Security guard during instalments 1,000
. Courier Service 8.000
Total $21,500
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TR-18-92 Page 5
4.7 Staff are investigating direct deposit payment into the
Town's bank account by the Mortgage Companies as another
method of reducing both the interest lost due to delay in
deposits and the amount of cash on hand.
4.8 The reduction of cash on hand resulting from the above
recommendations will also pose less of an audit security
and a safety risk to staff.
5.0 Direct Deposit:
5.1 Direct monthly deposit from the taxpayer's account into the
Town's bank account has been investigated as an alternative
to quarterly instalments. However using the volume that is
currently paid through the banks, this is not a cost
efficient method at this time.
5.2 Staff would like to pursue this alternative in the form of a
questionnaire to be included with the final tax bill to
determine the interest in this method of payment. The cost
to process decreases with volume and if the interest is
significant this alternative could be implemented through
the current contract period. If this alternative were to
prove of interest to the public it would be implemented for
the 1993 tax year and thus any associated cost would be
reflected in the 1993 current budget.
6.0 Contract Term:
6 .1 The extension to the contract on a month by month basis was
built into the proposal call and is intended to allow
flexibility due to the contract term coinciding with the
time of the-next municipal election.
7.0 Conclusion:
7.1 It is recommended that the Bank of Nova Scotia continue
to provide the Banking services to the Town of Newcastle
and the proposal be accepted subject to the recommendations
contained in this report.
Respectfully submitted, Recommended for presentation
to the Committee,
ie A. Marano, H.BSc. , AMCT. LawrenWVistrative Rotseff
Treasurer Chief Officer
MAM/PP