The City of Prince Rupert has an infrastructure of roads, utilities, recreational and cultural amenities which would be suitable in a City that had a population of 15,000 – 20,000 citizens. Prince Rupert has this infrastructure because during the heyday of the ocean fishery and pulp mill, the City had a summer population influx which increased the population to 20,000. During this period, Property Taxes on these industries and associated businesses, as well as a larger residential tax base, funded the cost of the infrastructure. Since then, the property tax base (fewer citizens, less business and less industry), has shrunk and our infrastructure has become older. This convergence of a shrinking property tax base and aging infrastructure has resulted in higher costs being shared by a smaller number of taxpayers.
Why are Property Taxes / Utilities split apart?
The Property Taxes and Utilities are split because the City used to encounter a cash flow problem each spring, which resulted in the City having to incur interest costs on borrowed money. By moving the payment of the Utilities forward, the cash flow problem was alleviated and interest costs were saved.
If I don't use City's garbage pick-up service, do I still have to pay?
In the Bylaw that levies the fee for garbage pickup, it was determined that it was in the broad public interest to not allow residential property owners to opt out of paying for the service.
If a property owner knows that their residential building will be unoccupied and remain unoccupied for three months or more, the property owner can provide advance written notice to the City that the service will not be needed. The annual service fee will then be reduced on a pro-rata basis.
City Hall is closed after I have finished working, is there a payment drop-off box?
There is a drop off box on the side of City Hall, near the accessible side door enterance. Please place the top portion of your Property Tax/Utilities Invoice and the corresponding payment in a check payable to City of Prince Rupert or cash (on your own risk) in an envelope before placing it in our drop off box.
We do not recommend cash drop off, do so at your own risk.
I don't understand my Property Taxes or Utility bill, can someone explain it to me?
Please visit Customer Service Counter at City Hall and staff can give you a detailed explanation.
My bank takes care of my Property taxes. Is there anything I need to be aware of?
Homeowners are ultimately responsible for their Property Taxes and Annual Utilities. Banks will only pay Property Taxes but NOT your Utilities. However, homeowners, are responsible for their own Annual Utility bill.
If you are eligible for the Home Owners Grant (HOG), you must still remit the HOG Application located at the bottom of your Property Tax bill to Customer Service at Cityhall. If you do not remit the HOG Application, you will not get the Home Owners Grant.
Why are pre-authorized payments only debited 11 months of the year?
Pre-authorized payments are debited from payee's bank account on 15th of each month. However, Property Taxes are due July 2 before the pre-authorized payment date of July 15. Therefore, there are no pre-authorized payments for month of July each year.
If you are on a pre-authorized payment plan, it your responsibility to notify the City in writing if there is a change of ownership of the property, change of amount you want to be charged or if you wish to cancel your pre-authoirized payment plan.
When are Property Taxes / Utilities bill due?
Property Taxes are due July 2 - the day after Canada Day. If homeowners want to qualify for early payment discount, Annual Utilities are due March 31.
Why doesn't City Hall take credit cards for Property Taxes or Annual Utilities? Your Recreation Department and landfill takes credit cards.
City Hall does take cash, check and Interac. However, credit cards have a high transaction fee (3% - 5% for VISA/Mastercard) proportional to the amount paid. To ensure transaction costs does not drive up homeowners Utilities and Property Taxes, City Hall does not take credit cards for these transactions.
Please Refer to the garbage collection schedule located in the Prince Rupert Citywest Phone Book. Please refer to the color coded City map that correspondes to the collections calender.
I plan to do some renovations to my house. Do I need a building permit to.............. ?
Please visit Development Services at City Hall to discuss with staff
Why are there no elevators for the 2nd floor of the Civic Center?
The City has been working hard to identify grant funding that would allow for a retrofit of our 40-year old Recreation Complex. It is expected the full project would be in the neighbourhood of $15 million to undertake seismic, accessibility and plant modernization issues. It does not make financial sense to add an elevator to the existing building at a cost of around $200,000 since this overall upgrade will have to eventually happen and hopefully sooner than later. If we are unable to identify grant capital funding for a complex retrofit, the project would eventually need to face the test of a public referendum, much like Kitimat did to retrofit their aquatic centre and just like Terrace did to add their new ice facility.
Why is my class cancelled?
Recreation classes and programs occasionally need to be cancelled due to the illness of an instructor. Occasionally we experience mechanical problems with the facility that we can’t correct in time for a class to happen (pool water temperature is too cold after a power outage, as an example). Sometimes, classes we attempt to offer don’t achieve the minimum number of participants registered in them in order to make the class feasible to operate.
How much rain does Prince Rupert get?
Prince Rupert is one of the wettest cities in Canada, we get about 2590mm of rainfull each year.
What is the latitute & longitude of Prince Rupert?
54°18' N / 130°19' W
What is the population of Prince Rupert?
According to the 2006 Canadian Census, Prince Rupert has a population of 12,815
Why are there no yearly bus passes for Adults/Students but there are for seniors?
The City’s existing Bylaw for charging fees for transit passes, does not provide for the sale of a year-long Student Bus Pass nor Adult Bus Pass. If there is sufficient demand for such a pass, this concept may be incorporated into the next Bylaw.
Why are City Hall employees working banker hours 9:30am - 4:30pm?
City Hall Staff Members come to work around 8:30am - 9:00am. They leave work around 5:00pm. Management level Staff Members occasionally work late into the night. Before City Hall could be opened to the public, Staff Members need some uninterrupted time in the morning to prepare before welcoming the public. Such preparations include organizing paper work, setting up computers, and initializing Interac machines. After closing City Hall to the public, Staff Members need to process work-related transactions that have occurred during throughout the day. To assist citizens in accessing services, City Hall does remain open to the public during lunch hours between 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm.
What is the date of Prince Rupert’s incorporation?
March 10, 1910
How did Prince Rupert get it's name?
“Rainy Rupert” was named in a nation-wide contest sponsored by Grand Trunk Pacific Railway officials in I906 who were seeking a name for their new little terminus on the Pacific Coast. They decided the new name should have I0 letters or less, have thee syllables or less, be purely Canadian and preferably significant of British Columbia and to not conflict with any other town name. Eleanor MacDonald of Winnipeg was awarded $250 of her entry of “Prince Rupert” even though that name contains more than I0 letters, and two others, Mrs. John Arms of Bonnecher, Ont. And R. Kirkwood of Copper Cliff, Ont., who suggested the name “Port Rupert” were also awarded $250 each. Thus the “new Pacific Coast City” was named at a cost of $750.
Prince Rupert is also an actual Prince. He is known as “Rupert of the Rhine”. He was born in Prague on Nov. 28, I6I9 the son of King Frederick of Bohamis, and Queen Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England. The dashing Prince served in the Army and Navy in several countries throughout Europe, and cut quite a switch with the ladies in the English court of his uncle, Charles I, and then his cousin, King Charles II. An energetic sportsman and a talented Inventor, Rupert had a distinguished career in history books, but died a lonely man in London in November of 1682. Although he never set foot in Canada, he had been associated with the Hudson’s Bay Company, serving as governor for several terms, and a large land comprising the drainage of the basin of Hudson Bay in Canada was named “Rupert’s Land” after him. He was buried in state in Westminster Abbey – one of the best-known names, historians claim, but least understood men in the history of England.
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