ELORA – Centre Wellington has made it a little easier for property owners to pay tax arrears once they’re registered with a tax sale certificate.
At the Sept. 30 council meeting treasurer Dan Wilson asked council to give him the authority to enter into extension agreements, rather than requiring the property owner to come to council, in a public forum, to request the extension.
“There’s been some hesitation on the property owner’s side to do that through a very public process,” Wilson said at the meeting.
“So by giving delegation of authority to my position this can be done at a staff level and wouldn’t have to come to council for approval.”
The way the process works is that property owners who are in tax arrears receive a monthly arrears statement indicating that the amount owed is growing. Once they have three years in tax arrears they enter into a tax sale process.
Once that happens they’re registered for one year for a tax sale.
During that time they can pay the total amount of taxes owed in full or enter into an extension agreement, “which provides the property owner more time to pay off their property taxes, penalties and interests and avoid the continuation of that tax sale process,” Wilson said.
However, because it’s been a public process up until this point, property owners have been hesitant to enter the extension agreement.
Wilson said tax arrears notices are given out to about 1,200 properties, of a total of 11,500 in the township, monthly, but a maximum from three properties ever make it to the tax sale process.
Since he became treasurer two years ago, Wilson said no properties have hit “the final trigger point to initiate a tax sale.”
Councillor Bob Foster was in favour of the recommendation.
“Anything we can do to help the people get onside … is a good thing,” he said. “So I’d like to make a motion that we accept this process.”
Council unanimously voted in favour of giving the treasurer the delegated authority to enter into tax extension agreements.
