Some residents appear to have received information suggesting one due date, while council discussion referenced another.

During the Jan. 26, 2026 meeting, Township council considered a motion under “Other Business” titled “Utility Bill Due Date.” Councillor Kim Richter moved that the utilities payment due date “return to the same due date as property taxes.”

Council voted it down.

The minutes show Mayor Eric Woodward and Councillors Tim Baillie, Steve Ferguson, Barb Martens, Michael Pratt, Rob Rindt, and Blair Whitmarsh opposed the motion.

According to a local news report from the same week, 2026 utility bills would be mailed separately starting in February and were expected to be due March 31. That is about three months earlier than the Township’s usual property tax deadline, which falls on the first business day after Canada Day. In 2026, that date is July 2.

What this means is utilities would be due in spring, and property taxes in early July.

However, two weeks after voting down Richter’s motion to align the utility due date with property taxes, Mayor Woodward brought forward a motion to align the due date with property taxes. Council later voted to set the 2026 utility bill due date as July 2.

Some property owners have reported receiving a printed “2026 Utility Billing” reminder card from the Township stating that utility bills are not included with property taxes, are billed separately, and have a different due date. The card does not list the due date, but it explicitly tells residents not to include their utility payment with their property tax payment.

Meanwhile, the Township’s own FAQ page says 2026 flat rate utility statement payments will be due in the spring, with the exact due date listed on the statement. The same page says a 10 percent penalty applies to unpaid balances after the due date.

Before council settled on July 2, the due date debate occured alongside Township communications that indicated utility bills were billed separately from property taxes, while reporting from the same period referenced a March 31 due date.

Residents have also been sharing their experiences online. One resident wrote that after utility billing was separated from property taxes, he was unsure when the utility bill was due and later received a notice saying he was late and had been charged approximately $175 in late fees. He said he did not receive the utility bill during a Canada Post strike and did not see it in his online Township account, and that when he followed up, he was informed the late fee still applied.

For 2026, residents are left with the due date printed on their utility statement, and council has set the due date as July 2. This follows earlier references to a “spring” deadline, reminder cards without a date, and earlier reporting pointing to March 31.