Increased assessment here may help mitigate any potential tax increase in the 2008 Mapleton budget.
The total value for all assessed property in the township for the 2008 tax year is up about $18-million or 1.7% to almost $1.09-billion. That increase is just under the provincial average of 1.9%.
“The Township of Mapleton has seen a growth in assessment over the 2007 assessment roll, therefore additional monies would be generated even if there were no increase in the tax rate,” treasurer Mike Givens told council recently.
Industrial assessment for 2008 is $18.4-million, up 10% from $16.6-million last year. And pipeline assessment for this year is almost $7.9-million, up 18% from about $6.7-million last year.
There are increases of less than 2% in the total assessment values in the residential ($6-million), and farm ($7-million) categories, and none in the multi-residential and managed forest categories.
Commercial and exempt categories show an increase of just under 5% (about $1-million each).
Not surprisingly, farm and residential categories make up the majority (92%) of assessment in Mapleton – approximately $1-billion.
Farm property alone, which covers over 52,000 hectares in the township, accounts for about 40%, while residential property makes up about 53%.
Each year, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) prepares an assessment roll for every Ontario municipality.
The roll provides the assessed value of all the properties in a municipality or in the jurisdiction of a school board with taxing authority.
As explained in a report to council from Givens, the estimated growth report reflects the differences between the assessment values of last year’s roll and this year’s roll.
Increased assessment
versus increased taxes
Many property owners often blame their municipality when they see higher tax bills.
And while that blame could be correctly laid, it’s possible the tax rate in the municipality increased very slightly or not at all, and the higher bill is mostly the result of increased assessment, which is handled by MPAC and is out of the municipality’s control.
MPAC also prepares supplementary assessment lists, which municipalities use to add in-year tax revenue from new construction or major alterations to properties; and sends property assessment notices to property owners every year.
Cancellations
The 2006 and 2007 assessment updates of properties in Ontario were cancelled.
As a result, assessments continue to be based on property values as of Jan. 1, 2005. Municipalities used those values to calculate property taxes for 2006 and 2007, and will do the same this year.
Education tax rates, which are set by the provincial government, are also being applied to the Jan. 1, 2005 assessed value.
Though assessment updates were cancelled, MPAC sent approximately one million assessment notices to property owners in the fall of 2007.
The Assessment Act requires MPAC to send an assessment notice when any information contained on the assessment roll has changed from one year to the next.
Property owners could have received a notice late last year for one of the following reasons:
– a change to property ownership or data;
– changes to classification or school support;
– a change to the property’s value resulting from a request for reconsideration or an assessment review board decision; and/or
– a property value increase/decrease reflecting a change to the property, for example, a new structure, addition, or removal of an old structure.
Property owners can call MPAC at 1-866-296-6722 if they need help understanding their assessed value or any other information included on the notice.
They can also ask MPAC to review the assessed value through a process called request for reconsideration.
In addition, property owners have the option to file a notice of complaint to an independent tribunal, the assessment review board of the attorney general.
