I have often been criticized by the mayor and my council
peers for not understanding the difference between policy and administration
and told that council should not delve too deeply into the town’s finances.
This hands-off attitude and abdication of financial responsibility, “we hire
competent staff to look after the budget so I don’t have to”, has resulted in
an under-assessment of class 2 property taxes for several years.
Class 2 properties are owned by utilities such as BC Hydro
and Telus. Residential (class 1) and small business (class 6) have had to pick
up the slack by paying an estimated $320,000 in additional taxes.
Under the community charter
“In setting the tax or levy rate for class 2 property for
general municipal purposes, a municipality must not exceed the greater of
- a. $40 for each $1000 of assessed value (a mill rate of 40), and
- b. 2.5 times the rate applicable to class 6 property for general municipal purposed in the municipality for the same taxation year.”
Last year, when I was analysing historical mill rates, I
discovered that for the 5 years from 2000 to 2005 the town had set a mill rate
of 40 for class 2, the maximum the town is allowed to charge. In subsequent years, 2006 to 2010, the mill rate dropped to
a low of 30, a multiple of 2.5 times the class 6 rate.
This misunderstanding and misapplication of the maximum class 2 mill rate
resulted in 8 years of lost revenue!!. At an estimated $40,000 per year this equates to a $320,000
paid by the taxpayers of Golden that should have been paid by class 2.
I will ensure that this will be addressed and corrected when
the mill rates are set for 2014 property taxes resulting in annual saving of
$40,000 for residential and small business.
The opinions expressed in this blog are my personal
opinions and may not represent the opinions of other Councillors nor the
opinions of council.
