Property Tax Bill Design and Content
The Corporate Services Committee recommends the adoption of the report (March 14, 1998)
from the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer:
The Corporate Services Committee reports, for the information of Council, having requested the Chief
Financial Officer and Treasurer:
(1) to submit a report directly to Council, for its meeting scheduled to be held on April 15, 1998:
(a) providing a list of what the Province intends to prohibit municipalities, by regulation, from
informing the taxpayers about on the Property Tax Bill;
(b) identifying on the Property Tax Bill the portion for education as determined by the Province; and
(c) providing coloured mock-ups of the new Property Tax Bill, brochure and envelopes; and
(2) in consultation with the Access and Equity Centre, to review the proposed Realty Tax Bills for plain
language and accessibility purposes.
The Corporate Services Committee submits the following report (March 14, 1998) from the Chief
Financial Officer and Treasurer:
Purpose:
This report outlines the design of the new property tax bill which will be sent to all taxpayers in early
June of this year. It will also address the regulatory requirements outlining what shall or shall not appear
on a tax bill in accordance with Bill 164.
Source of Funds/Financial Implications:
Funding for the design, printing and mailing of the tax bills have been budgeted for in the operating
budget. The financial implications in any delays in the approval of the final bill design are substantial
considering the City will bill more than $2.5 billion on the final tax bill.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) Council approve the attached tax bill design and content. Please note that the attached tax bill has
been reduced to approximately 7" X 14" and the actual bill will be 7" X 17"; and
(2) any message or communication that Council deems necessary be included in a separate brochure
and/or mailing envelope.
Background:
With the amalgamation of the former municipalities, the implementation of a new property tax software
system, a new assessment system and Bill 164, a new tax bill has been designed. The new tax bill takes
into consideration the new legislated requirements including those set out in Bill 164. The Bill (Tax
Credits to Create Jobs Act) received Royal Accent on December 18, 1997, with the section pertaining to
the information permitted on property tax bills effective January 1, 1998.
The Act authorizes the Minister to prescribe what mandatory information is required to appear on a tax
bill. It goes on to state that, where the Minister has approved the form of the notice (i.e., tax bill), a
municipality shall not include other information on a tax bill unless expressly authorized to do so by the
Minister. Information which is included with the accompanying tax bill, such as a brochure, is not
subject to the legislation and Council may state what it wishes. As part of the regular final tax bill
mailing, there is usually an accompanying brochure which incorporates communication from Council it
deems necessary to all its taxpayers.
Council at it's meeting held on February 12, 1998, passed a motion that the final tax bill include a
separate line item entitled "New Mike Harris Property Tax". If the Minister was to exercise his power to
the fullest, then this would likely not be permitted on the actual tax bill, but it can be placed on the
accompanying brochure previously mentioned, if Council so wishes. To date, no regulations have been
filed by the Minister and Ministry staff advise that regulations in this respect are not expected at this
time. The risk of placing it on the tax bill, in possible contravention of the regulations, is that the tax bill
may not be legally considered a tax bill and therefore our statutory lien may not be valid.
When the regulations are passed, they may be retroactive to January 1st, which may put the Treasurer in
a legal dilemma because of her statutory duties as Tax Collector. Under the Municipal Act, the Tax
Collector is required to levy and collect taxes as set out in the legislation. The Tax Collector also
collects for the school boards and they are required, under legislation, to be paid a specific amount by a
specific date. If the Treasurer/Tax Collector can not fulfill her duties in the collection of taxes, the issue
of liability needs to be addressed.
We have spoken to the City Solicitor on the issue of not conforming to Bill 164 and they concur with
the legal ramifications identified above regarding the legal status of the tax bill.
An early resolution by Council on the design and content of the tax bill is important so that the final tax
bills can be mailed in early June. There is a significant amount of lead time required for computer
programming, printing preparation, and other related steps in the bill production and mailing. Any
delays will result in reduced cash flow in June and an associated loss in investment income.
Conclusions:
It is our intention to mail out the tax bills in early June in order to meet our financial commitments. It is
necessary to finalize the bill design and content now, to enable the work to be completed to meet this
objective. Any delay in the design or its conformity to the existing legislation will have serious
consequences on our cash flow. The liability issue as its pertains to the Treasurer/Tax Collector and her
statutory duties needs to be addressed if Council instructions do not comply with the legislation.
Contact Name:
Ed DeSousa Audrey Birt
Phone: 397-4226 392-7820
Fax: 392-3649 392-0364