How to pay your municipal taxes, parking tickets and other bills during a postal strike.

Where do I pay my parking tickets?  How do I renew my dog or cat license? Where can I get a new seniors’ transit pass?  Can I pay my utility bills online?

Those are just a few of the many questions residents of Calgary and Edmonton are asking after members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers walked off the job this morning across Canada.

The cities of Calgary and Edmonton are both offering advice to residents to ensure operations continue smoothly during the strike.

While the province’s two biggest municipalities admit there will be some disruptions, both say many city services, and details on other alternatives, are available online.

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However, both cities say they will be making some changes to operations during the postal strike.

In Edmonton:

• The city will not issue automated enforcement tickets during a Canada Post strike.  All tickets for infractions during the strike will be issued once mail service resumes. Payment deadlines and court dates will be adjusted based on the date the ticket is issued and not the date the infraction occurred;
• The city will not be sending approved business licenses and renewal letters by mail, however business owners can request to have copies of approved business licences emailed or made available for pick up at the Edmonton Service Centre;
• Development permit notifications (those requiring notification of property owners in the neighbourhood) will not be sent in the mail. The list of applications requiring notification will be posted online;
• Traffic and bylaw offence (parking) tickets can be paid online or in person at the Edmonton Service Centre, and;
• The city of Edmonton is also warning there may be longer than usual wait times at the Edmonton Service Centre due to increased in-person needs.
• The city of Edmonton says traffic and bylaw offence (parking) tickets can be paid online or in person at the Edmonton Service Centre.

In Calgary:

• The city warns it will not waive penalties if a disruption in postal service delays property tax payments;
• The city of Calgary says payments for utility bills, water,  waste and recycling services, animal licences, property and business taxes and corporate invoices can be made at the city of Calgary municipal building, through a bank’s online or telephone banking systems or online depending on the method of payment;
• Parking violations can be paid on calgaryparking.com or in person at the Calgary Impound Lot or City cashiers;
• Transit passes can be purchased at various locations around town, with more information available online
• The City of Calgary says it is also is working with an external courier service to maintain deliveries of critical material to Calgarians and businesses.

Residents of Edmonton are invited to log on to the city of Edmonton website to find out about the alternatives that are available.

Residents of Calgary can also check out the city of Calgary website for a full list of services available online and information on other alternatives.

Provincial violation tickets, can be paid online at Alberta Fine Payments.

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