A request to have a municipal tax penalty waived was declined by the Town of Stettler council at its Aug. 5 regular meeting, following a recommendation from administration to comply with the Municipal Government Act (MGA) and the town’s taxation bylaw.

The request came in the form of a letter submitted to council after new property owners received a tax notice dated July 14, 2025, indicating an outstanding penalty of $57.17 on a total balance of $1,962.70. According to the letter, the owners took possession of the property at 4205 63 Street on April 22, 2025, and were unaware of the tax process, noting that the bill had likely been sent to the previous owner.

The owners said the full amount has since been paid but asked council to consider reversing the penalty due to not receiving a tax notice and being new to the community after moving from out of province.

“Did they receive notification about the penalty?” asked Coun. Gord Lawlor during the meeting.

Administration noted that land title transfers can take up to two months, meaning the owners may not have received the notice in time. However, it was also stated that the outstanding taxes would have been disclosed during the purchase process, and it would have been the responsibility of the new owners to ensure taxes were paid on time.

Section 331 of the MGA states that all taxes must be paid by the due date shown on the tax notice, as well, Bylaw 2149-22 states that a penalty of three per cent is applied to unpaid taxes after the last working day of June, with a further nine per cent added later in the year.

Administration advised that neither the bylaw nor the MGA allows council to cancel penalties under such circumstances and recommended that the penalty be upheld.

“It’s always hard with things like this,” said Mayor Sean Nolls.

Council voted to accept the recommendation and take no further action on the request.