COVID relief padded abilities of Community Warmth

By COLLIN GALLANT on March 3, 2021.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

A program to help Hatters pay off overdue utility bills grew three-fold during 2020 – when council dedicated emergency funds to it in a COVID relief package – and more is expected this spring, administrators tell the News.

They are also giving an accounting of other relief funds – $8.2 million in reserve cash that was spent on other charitable efforts, business grants and potential economic development spending.

Half of that money went to erase proposed property tax increases last year, but portions of $4 million are being paid out and other unspent amounts rolled into a new economic development program.

The money, approved May 4, is back in the spotlight this week as the annual statistics for the Community Warmth Program were released. It assists Hat utility customers with one-time help to clear up overdue bills, and is typically paid for by other ratepayers in monthly tax-deductible donations.

The 11-year-old program averaged about $25,000 per year until 2020, when billed amounts were deferred through the spring to allow customers greater leeway during the first pandemic lockdown.

On Monday, council members heard $27,500 of public donations were dispersed along with $46,500 in special funding, for a total of $84,000.

Already in 2021, another $41,000 has been issued of the $500,000 allocated in the COVID relief package, said Dennis Egert, managing director of the corporate services division.

“We are expecting larger demand (to access Community Warmth) in the spring,” said Egert, who says since utility disconnects don’t occur in the winter months, action is essentially paused.

As new notices go out however, the bill holder will be directed to the program administered by the Salvation Army, and is available to all utility customers with some conditions.

The city utility department was owed as much as $2 million when deferrals ended last June, and today, the total amount owing on 3,800 accounts was $1.7 million.

Some have since moved on to payment plans, which will bring the total down slowly, say finance officials.

It’s not known if the entire half-million dollars – taken from the city’s Community Capital Reserve – will be required. It and other amounts in the May package will be evaluated, while a majority of the other $4 million in non-tax relief is designated.

“There will be a point this spring when we’ll look at it to see if it’s meeting the original objectives,” said Egert.

The envelop includes a total of $1 million for charitable causes, $2 million for direct business support and $1 million to be used for potential business development at the discretion of the city manager.

Of that $1 million, some funds were spent in the Invest Medicine Hat “10-20-30” program to reward homebuilders with up to $10,000 for each foundation poured in 2020. The remaining $800,000 will be rolled into the budget of a new economic development program, including cash for new building starts, announced in mid-February.

The city also set aside up to $500,000 for the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta, and forwarded $100,000 immediately to take part in a matching funding program from the province for charitable actions.

That resulted in an additional $40,000 in provincial funds for the CFSEA to spend using their process for community and non-profit grants.

Council also earmarked $2 million for business grants administered by Community Futures Entre-Crop, and has forwarded $1.5 million in three separate programs that included direct grants to businesses to cover costs to comply with health orders, but also expand business offerings in an effort to diversify. The final block of funds, $500,000, is being held as a program is determined, said Egert.

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