Highlights from the Emergency Council Meeting on COVID-19
“I AM SHARING THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE FROM THE March 2020 EDITION OF 'NEWMARKET NOW!' SEND YOUR FEEDBACK OR SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE EDITIONS BY SENDING COMMENTS TO COMMUNICATIONS@NEWMARKET.CA”
On Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 Newmarket John Taylor declared with council and staff the Town of Newmarket Staet of Emergency and gave formal consent to matters discussed around the impact of COVID-19 and our community.
Mayor and Members of Newmarket Council held an Emergency Council meeting on March 18, 2020, to discuss matters related to COVID-19. At this meeting, the following was determined.
Town of Newmarket declares the State of Emergency
Mayor John Taylor declared a state of emergency in response to COVID-19 in the Town of Newmarket.
“This is an unprecedented time that most of us have never experienced in our lifetime. Declaring a state of an emergency is not to incite panic, but to incite action and allow the Town to dedicate more resources and be in a better position to respond to COVID-19.” says Mayor John Taylor. “It is time for us as a community to do our part to help flatten the curve and stabilize the spread of COVID-19. We need to listen to our Public Health Officials and seriously practice social distancing in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 to save lives.”
Following the Declaration of a state of emergency, the Town will also be activating its Emergency Operations Centre on Thursday, March 19, 2020, in response to COVID-19.
Learn more about what declaring a State of Emergency means for the Town of Newmarket.
Property Taxes penalty fees and interest waived
The Town is looking for ways to help provide financial relief from property taxes to residents. For the time being, the Town of Newmarket is going to waive all late payment fees and interests on all property tax accounts. Late payments for the March 26 and April 28 property due dates will not be subject to any late payment fees or interests. The Town will come back in 30-60 days with more options and details on a property tax deferral plan.
Support for Community Groups
Newmarket Council approved up to $25,000 in support of community meal programs, enhanced community food bank operations or to be used for other community needs. Newmarket is also working with these community groups on contingency planning to ensure they are able to meet the needs of the community during COVID-19.
Cancellation of all Town of Newmarket Council and Committee of the Whole Meetings
All upcoming Council Meetings, including Committee of the Whole and Public Planning Meetings, are cancelled until further notice.
Noise By-law exemption to allow for 24-hour service delivery
Newmarket Council reviewed its Noise By-law and it currently meets the requirement to allow all service or delivery trucks, who are providing essential services to continue with their business outside of current daytime hours. This will ensure all essential services and stores will be stocked for our community.
For more information, please watch the archive video of the March 18, 2020, Emergency Council Meeting
Watch the Emergency Council Meeting online
All Newmarket Buildings and Facilities are closed
All Town of Newmarket buildings and facilities are closed until further notice to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The Town will continue, where possible, to provide services to residents by email (info@newmarket.ca) or by phone 905-895-5193. These measures have been taken in support of the Province of Ontario's direction to facilitate social distancing to protect staff and residents from the spread of COVID-19.
Other essential services provided by the Town that will continue to operate include, but are not limited to water and wastewater services, waste and recycling pick-up, general maintenance of Town-maintained roads, sidewalks and trails, customer service call centres, Central York Fire Services (emergency services) and more.
For more information, visit newmarket.ca/covid19
Federal Government of Canada: canada.ca/covid19
Government of Ontario: ontario.ca/covid19
York Region Government: york.ca/covid19
By working together, sharing information, ideas and being engaged in our community we can achieve great things for Newmarket.