Hamilton owners are urged to sign up to receive their fare bills by email and pay by direct debit to reduce the impact of Covid-19 on payment due dates.

The pandemic has taken its toll on Hamilton City Council billing and other calendars.

In March, the council decided to postpone adopting its 2020/21 annual plan from June to August, to further develop how it would cope with the pandemic and to give the community a chance to have their say on the issue. the proposed changes for the next 12 months.

As the council’s tariffs for the coming year can only be “fixed” after the adoption of the annual plan, the tariff deadlines for the second half of 2020 have also been affected.

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The first installment is due September 24 – almost a month later than usual. The second installment is due two months later, on November 26, two months after the first installment.

Rate and Revenue Manager Matthew Bell said the easiest way to mitigate the impact on due dates was to pay by direct debit.

“Setting up a direct debit is the easiest option to pay your rates. Your payment will always be made on time and we will do all the work to readjust your debit amount each year.

“You can pay weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly. It’s yours.”

About 35 percent of taxpayers paid by direct debit and 25 percent received their bills by email.

If direct debit payment was not an option, receiving rate invoices by email could give taxpayers an extra week between receipt of the invoice and the due date.

“By signing up for rate invoices via email, you’ll instantly know how much to pay and when it’s due,” Bell said.

“Waiting for the mail means you’ll have less time to plan your payment. “

Each year, the council used 164,000 sheets of A4 paper to print paper invoices and 142,000 envelopes to mail them.

“Increasing the number of taxpayers who receive their invoices by email will help us reduce costs and be more environmentally friendly.

The average annual tariff increase set by the council for the year 2020/21 is 2.8%, which is 1% less than what was foreseen in the 2018-28 long-term plan.

Invoices for the first tariff installment will be emailed and posted this week.