City to activate contingency plans in the event of a mail disruption

_ (press release) _ ** Ottawa ** – In the event of a labour disruption to Canada Post service on Friday, the City has developed contingency plans for residents and businesses that rely on mail service.

Ontario Works

In anticipation of a postal disruption, a decision was taken by Community and Social Services to keep the July monthly cheques out of the mail system.  While the majority of Ontario Works financial assistance recipients have direct deposit, those who do not are required to pick up their cheques at their respective Social Support Centre starting June 28. Acceptable photo identification and signature are required.

Property tax, water and sewer and accounts-receivable payments

Payment due dates for City of Ottawa accounts receivable remain unchanged and must be adhered to in the same way as other bills from credit card companies, retailers and financial institutions.

While a Canada Post labour disruption could cause inconvenience for residents who usually pay property tax, water and sewer and accounts-receivable bills by mail, residents are reminded they have a wide array of payment options, including:

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Pre-authorized debit plan.

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Online by payment card including MasterCard, VISA, American Express (AMEX), Interac Online and Visa Debit.

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Financial institutions – online, by telephone or in person.

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Electronic billing and online payment with epost.

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Payment in person at City of Ottawa Client Service Centres or by depositing payments in the Client Service Centre’s drop box available at all seven
[
 Client Service Centre locations
](http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/your-city-government/contact-city-ottawa/client-service-centres)
. For your security, please enclose a cheque or money order rather than cash.

You can also send general correspondence to the City by depositing it in any Client Service Centre drop box. ** Property tax, water and sewer bills ** My ServiceOttawa allows residents to securely access self-serve options in one place. It is free to set up, easy to use and provides residents and businesses access 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Use My ServiceOttawa online services to:

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Register for an account.

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View account information such as live account balances and upcoming due dates.

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View, print and pay water and tax bills online.

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Update contact information.

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Manage pre-authorized debit account.

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Contact the City on a wide range of topics.

** Parking tickets ** can be paid online at ottawa.ca , in person at any Client Service Centre, at the Provincial Offences Court offices at 100 Constellation Drive and 110 Laurier Avenue West, or by depositing them in the Court’s drop box. ** Provincial offence fines ** for speeding tickets, by-law infractions or other offences can be paid online at ottawa.ca , in person at the Provincial Offences Court at 100 Constellation Drive, 110 Laurier Avenue West or 255 Centrum Boulevard, or by depositing them in the Court’s drop box. ** ** ** Invoice submission ** Original invoices for goods and services can be submitted to Accounts Payable by e-mail. Invoices must be in PDF format and e-mailed to AP-CF@ottawa.ca . Each PDF file must be a single invoice, but multiple files can be attached to the e-mail.

Invoices can also be hand-delivered to Accounts Payable at 100 Constellation Drive, 4

th

Floor West.

Invoices are to be addressed as follows:

City of Ottawa Accounts Payable PO Box 3426 Station D Ottawa, ON K1P 0B9 ** Attention: ** Invoice contact name and/or P.O. #

The invoice contact name can be found on new purchase orders issued by the City. If there is no invoice contact name identified, please use the name of your City client/customer. The purchase order number must be shown on the invoice if one was provided. ** Payment of invoices ** Payment by direct deposit (EFT) ** is not ** affected and will continue to be made as per normal operations. _ _ Enrolment for EFT payment is now ** mandatory ** for recurring trade payable suppliers. Enrolment forms are available online at ottawa.ca or on site at 100 Constellation Drive. Forms must be accompanied by a void cheque, encoded deposit slip, or bank letter as supporting documentation and verification of bank account information.

Payment by cheque ** is ** affected by the Canada Post labour disruption.  Cheques will be held for pick-up at 100 Constellation Drive, 4

th

Floor West. ** Registered mail ** The City will provide a service to deliver and attain signatures for correspondence and notifications which are required by law to be registered. If the intended recipient is not present at the time of delivery, a door hanger will be left with options outlining where and when to pick up the notification.

Mail intended for the City that is required by law to be registered can be dropped off and signed for at any Client Service Centre during business hours.

For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca or call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-9656 ). You can also connect with us through Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .