THUNDER BAY — Thunder Bay’s city council has voted to loosen eligibility rules for the city’s property tax and water credit program, removing a rule that barred people whose accounts were in arrears from applying.
The program is open to seniors and people with disabilities living on low incomes.
In a report, city staff said the restriction on those in arrears “has been identified as a barrier” that could prevent those most in need from accessing support.
Over 500 people take advantage of the program, receiving tax credits of $400 and water credits of $200.
That amounts to up to a 14 per cent tax reduction, and a 15 to 21 per cent water reduction.
It’s a provincially-mandated program, but staff noted it goes beyond the bare-minimum requirements.
Many communities still offer only deferral programs, while Thunder Bay introduced a credit-based program in 2012, staff said.
That came after low uptake on the deferral program, with fewer than 10 people applying in 2011.
Coun. Andrew Foulds called it one example of the steps the city has taken to support vulnerable residents.
“Councils in the past, and perhaps even the current council, have been labelled at times as being uncaring. This is a 15 per cent discount for seniors and people on disability, where some municipalities just do deferrals,” Foulds said.
“This is a program that’s taking care of north of 500 people… keeping them in their own homes with a substantial discount.”
To qualify, seniors must be 65 or older and receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), while people with disabilities must receive either the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or disability support through the Canada Pension Plan.
All applicants must have a total household income of $41,150 or less to be eligible.
Coun. Mark Bentz suggested the program should also consider how much equity applicants hold.
“There are seniors that may be accessing this that have a lot of equity, and there may be some young people out there who own homes living paycheque to paycheque [who] may qualify for the income level, too.”
The average recipient has a home value around $175,000, staff reported.
Council voted to expand eligibility for the program at a meeting on Monday.
More information about the program and how to apply is available at the city's website.
