Feature Article June 26,2003
LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb HomeMayors want freedom to raise taxes, but shy away from property assessmentThe Ontario Conservative party election platforms proposal to extend the Taxpayer Protection Act to municipalities would require municipalities and counties to hold a referendum before a council introduces a new tax or increases the rate of an existing tax, according to the platform document.
What have they been smoking?, Mayor Bill MacDonald of Central Frontenac asked at a meeting of the Frontenac County Council last Wednesday, adding They have downloaded all these costs to us over the years and now they want to limit our ability to raise funds to cover them. I dont think so.
In an administrative report to County council on the matter, deputy Treasurer John Shaw pointed out the proposal by the governing party could result in increased reliance on user fees, reductions in municipal service levels, increased infrastructure deterioration, and an increased municipal reliance on senior levels of government.
County Council voted to support the position of the Association of Ontario Municipalities (AMO), which opposes the proposal.
Municipal Assessment: The City of Toronto forwarded a recent proposal of City Council concerning property assessment. The proposal says, in part, the City of Toronto again express its concern to the province of Ontario that MPAC [The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation] should be controlled by the municipality, given that it is funded by the municipality.
When this correspondence was brought before County Council, the proposition that it be endorsed was quickly reversed as the implications sunk in. Mayors Leonard (South Frontenac), MacDonald (Central Frontenac), and VandenHoek (the Frontenac Islands) all expressed their concern that their municipalities need to keep the responsibility for property assessment in the hands of an outside body. The correspondence was simply received and filed. Mayor Johnston of North Frontenac was not present at the meeting. (Editors note: we have had several inquiries about the appeals process under the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. We received an informative letter on the subject last month, and will be looking into the whole issue in the future).
