House Fire has Elk Point Reviewing Policy

The Town of Elk Point is reviewing policies on how to handle taxes, utilities, and other costs or loss of revenue in the case of a house fire. Following a house fire, on November 26th, which no one was harmed, Town Council realized that there wasn’t a policy put in writing on how to proceed. The blaze, which claimed the structure, sparked a need for a policy to be put in place, says Councillor, for the Town of Elk Point, Lorne Young.

“Over the years, like any community, we’ve had a number of house fires,” explains Young, “we want a policy in place for how to deal with taxation, water bills, and things like that.” Town Council has asked the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer, Ken Gwozdz, to research and look into drafting a policy to bring for discussion at the next Council meeting, which is scheduled for January.

Currently, there’s an unwritten procedure, explains Young, “there’s a process in place, that after a fire, there’s an assessment that’s done. So after a fire, assessors are notified and a reassessment is done and typically this is on the property, itself, not on the house.” A lot of the procedure would be the same as what happens already in the town, however, Council would like it in policy.