Administrative Policy 57 — Utility Assistance Rebate

Queens, Nova Scotia

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Region of Queens Municipality Administrative Policy No. 57 - Utility Assistance Rebate __________________________________________________________________ BE IT ENACTED by the Council of Region of Queens Municipality, under the authority of the Municipal Government Act, S.N.S. 1998, Chapter 18, as follows: This policy shall be known as Policy Number 57 and may be cited as "Utility Assistance Rebate". POLICY PURPOSE This policy provides guidelines for establishing and providing a rebate to users of the Water Utility of Region of Queens Municipality. This rebate must be funded separately from the Water Utility annual operations budget. Other funding sources may include operations or surplus funds in reserve. In addition, this policy covers procedures to: a) set the annual qualifying thresholds; b) determine the application process for users; c) outline responsibility for administration of the rebate. DEFINITIONS "Utility" refers to Region of Queens Municipality Water Utility as defined by the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board. "Finance Staff" is any employee of the Finance department at Region of Queens Municipality. "Rebate" is the applicable amount applied to Utility accounts as a credit. "Application" is a document to be completed annually by users requesting consideration for the rebate. "Household Income" is the total income for tax purposes and as disclosed on the Canada Revenue Agency Notice of Assessment for all people residing at the service address. "Primary Residence" is the residence occupied by the owner year-round. "Applicant" is the person(s) who have an active Utility account in the applicant's name or a valid tenant acknowledgement agreement is on file with Region of Queens Municipality. UTILITY ASSISTANCE REBATES QUALIFICATIONS 1) Primary residents of Region of Queens who are users of the Water Utility, 2) Total household income falls below the threshold as approved by Council for the fiscal year. 3) All other criteria as outlined in Administrative Policy No. 9 Tax Exemption. THRESHOLD The income threshold for this rebate will be the same as the highest income threshold approved by Council annually for Administrative Policy No. 9 Tax Exemption. REBATE AMOUNT A rebate of $200 will be applied to the applicant's Utility account as a credit. This credit will be applied to Utility accounts by Finance staff after the application has been reviewed and approved. Only one rebate per service address or applicant per fiscal year is available. Rebates will be provided until annual funding has been utilized. APPLICATION Region of Queens Municipality will advertise the availability of the program annually. Applications will be available at the Municipal Administration office and on the Region of Queens Municipality website. Applications will be accepted until the end of February of the current fiscal year. EFFECTIVE DATE This policy shall take effect from the date of approval by Council. Version Number Amendment Description Amendment/Policy Owner Approved By Approval Date 1.0 Creation of Policy Director of Finance Council 2025-10-28 2.0 Clerical Correction - policy number amended from Policy No. 56 to Policy No. 57 Municipal Clerk N/A N/A OFFICIAL CERTIFICATION THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT this policy was passed by the Council of Region of Queens Municipality at a duly constituted meeting of said Council held on the 28th day of October 2025. SIGNED by the Mayor and Municipal Clerk this 29th day of October 2025. _______________________________________ Mayor ________________________________________ Municipal Clerk This Policy will be reviewed every four years.