Frustrated Home Owner

Posted By Dan Ethier

Dear editor,

I live in a modest 1250 square foot home in the west end of town and have some concerns about my Property Assessment. As many of the councillors and even the mayor have suggested, I have submitted an application for reconsideration. As part of the reconsideration, I was advised to find similar properties to mine and submit why I think my assessment should be reconsidered. I was unable to find similar homes that have sold recently; therefore, I must compare to homes that have all been assessed using the same calculation as mine the formula is messed up everyones assessment came in too high and because of this, Im not holding my breath that my assessment will be reconsidered.

I am objecting to the Location Adjustment cost which totals $108,179. All homes in our neighbourhood had the same amount for Location Adjustment. This is a big chunk of change. According to the MPAC, the Location Adjustment is calculated based on things like distance to a golf course. Alright, I live in proximity to a golf course, but I have never stepped foot on it. Further to this, in my opinion, the adjustment never took into account that I live far from any full time fire department and that this increases my insurance, that I do not have access to city services like Transit, and that my roads are taking a real toll on my vehicle because as Councillor Scripnick referred to last spring, they are the worst roads in the city. This new assessment will increase my taxes substantially and Im very frustrated because really, the only services I receive directly from the city is garbage, recycling pick up and minimal road maintenance. In addition, my familys standard of living will obviously be affected because if the taxes are raised to the amount implied on my assessment notice, I will have to dish out another $50 a month for 2009 alone. That was $50 that was being spent elsewhere like movies with the family, a nice dinner out or an extra activity for the kids.

Apparently, councils hands are tied. I challenge city council to lobby on the tax payers behalf to the provincial government in order to take a closer look at these Property Assessments. In the meantime, it is their responsibility to spend the tax payers money with prudence. I would like to see some accountability in the chambers. Lower the budget for the city and dont raise taxes. I am in agreement with Mr. Ponterelli and Mr. Saudinos suggestion to close Shania Twains closet. In a time of economic uncertainty, we need to start being more efficient with money. The Shania Twain Centre is only one example of losing tax payers money; there are many others. Lets start running this city like a business and clean up house so that the working people have money at the end of the day to treat themselves they deserve it!

Sincerely,

Dan Ethier

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