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LETTER: What will this year’s increase look like?

Chris Palmer writes in about city tax increases.

Editor, the Gazette:

With respect to the article Grand Forks values rise 10 per cent, by Kathleen Saylors in the Jan. 10, 2018 issue of the Grand Forks Gazette, her statement “Contrary to popular belief, a rise in assessed value does not necessarily mean a rise in property taxes” is accurate, provided that municipal and city governments follow the generally recognized process to establish the tax rate (also known as the mil rate) for the current year’s city tax-residential.

The process is clearly described at the following website. www.maa.ca/municipalities/process/valuevstaxes.html

The tax rate/mil rate is an annually determined adjustment factor that eliminates the variability and uncertainty that can be generated by fluctuating property assessment values.

Notwithstanding the above, for the 2017 budget, with an average 4.75 per cent increase in property assessed values, the Grand Forks City Hall determined to use the 2016 tax rate/mil rate for the 2017 city tax-residential, with an additional 3.5 per cent increase, which was subsequently raised to a 5.09 per cent increase. This resulted in an average increase of 9.84 per cent to the city tax-residential amount in 2017 over the previous year.

With an average 9.9 per cent increase in property assessed values this year, what can we expect from the Grand Forks City Hall for the 2018 budget? I refer you to the iNSIGHT section of the Jan. 10, 2018 Grand Forks Gazette. Engage with the 2018 budget. Become familiar with the process of setting property taxes. Attend meetings. Ask questions.

Chris Palmer

Grand Forks