A move intended to help keep property taxes down ended up biting city staff in the behind Tuesday, as angry politicians blamed them for not alerting them to the change.
As a result, 26,000 tax bills set to be mailed out this week are being delayed as city council passed a motion re-establishing the original due dates. The decision will not only cost about *$12,000 to destroy the bills and prepare new ones, the city won’t receive the $150,000 in investment revenue the early bills were supposed to raise.
Sending the bills out three weeks earlier than normal was part of a series of options staff prepared to keep the 2020 tax increase at 3.5 per cent. The final number came in at 3.3 per cent, and councillors later voted to add a 1.5 per cent levy for infrastructure renewal projects.
While not raising new revenue, the early tax bills would have allowed the city to earn $150,000 in investment income since it would have the tax money a bit earlier.
Since it didn’t affect service levels or taxation rates – and it seemed a minor move – staff didn’t alert city council that they bylaw they passed approving the budget had the earlier date.
While some councillors said they shared blame, since they didn’t notice the change when they voted to pass the bylaw, Mayor Brian Bigger was particularly upset an official “policy change" was not brought to their attention.
While staff told him that cancelling this week's mailout was too drastic, and the city should just tell residents they had three more weeks to pay, Bigger insisted the bills should be recalled, and councillors can debate next year whether to make the change – not staff.
“There is a better way to do this," Bigger said.
And Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier said when councillors read reports, they expect staff to tell them whether any administrative changes have financial implications. This change does, yet no report was submitted.
Changing the due date for property taxes is a big deal, Cormier said, and it needs to be communicated much more clearly and earlier to residents. He compared it to the controversy several years ago when cable companies added new channels to your package and charged you for them unless you opted out.
“There are lessons here on this on how to get it right," he said. “We should step back and do the right thing and communicate it effectively."
* An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the cost was about $1,200. The new tax bills should be mailed in early February.
