The last of Kneehill County’s large tax arrears accounts, after exhaustive efforts to begin discussions, was granted a 12-month tax deferral at the regular Tuesday, March 22 council meeting.
Long Run Exploration Ltd reached out to begin negotiations with Kneehill County after a demand letter from the county’s legal firm was sent in late 2021.
“Council has agreed to several payment plans with industrial partners during the economic downturn, (COVID-19) pandemic, and low gas prices,” Ms. Siverson shared with council.
Two repayment options were presented to council for consideration and approval. The first option was an equal payment plan for a 12-month period, which would include the 2019 and 2020 penalties and waive the 2021 and 2022 penalties, would repay a total of $336,307.56; the second option was an immediate payment of $299,350.25 and would all waive penalties from 2019 to 2022.
Ms. Siverson explained, although the second option would provide immediate repayment, the cancellation of four years of penalties would actually decrease county revenues and the first option would provide the county with a “better financial return.”
Council moved to accept the 12-month repayment plan and cancel the 2021 penalties in the amount of $68,780.82 along with $24,807.82 in 2022 penalties.
