Property Tax Bill Design and Content

 (City Council on April 16, 1998, deferred consideration of this Clause to the Special Meeting of Council to be held on Wednesday, April 29, 1998, such Clause to be considered with the 1998 Operating Budget.)

 (Clause No. 26 of Report No. 3 of the Corporate Services Committee.)

 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 16, 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 Bill 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 ANew 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 DeSousaAudrey Birt

Phone:397-4226 392-7820

Fax:392-3649 392-0364

 (City Council on April 16, 1998, had before it, during consideration of the foregoing Clause, the following report (April 15, 1998) from the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer:

 Purpose:

 The purpose of this report is to respond to the motions made at the March 30, 1998, Corporate Services Committee meeting, regarding what the Province intends to prohibit municipalities from placing on the tax bills, identify on the property tax bill the portion for education as determined by the Province and mock-ups of the tax bill, brochure and envelopes.

 Source of Funds/Financial Implications:

 Funding for the design and printing of the tax bill, administrative brochure and envelopes have been budgeted in the operating budget.

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended that:

 (1)the design of the tax bill, and particularly the identification of the ANew Mike Harris Property Tax@, be deferred to the special meeting of Council beginning April 28, 1998, regarding the 1998 Operating and Capital Budgets;

 (2)the attached list (Appendix I) of what the Province intends to prohibit municipalities from placing on their tax bill be received as information;

 (3)the education portion of the tax bill be clearly identified as AProvincial@; and

 (4)the colour of the final tax bill and brochure be green, with the mailing envelope being beige as presented.

 Background:

 With the amalgamation of the former municipalities, a new property tax bill needs to be designed and sent to taxpayers across the new City. At a special meeting of Council held on February 12, 1998, it was requested that the final tax bill be amended and include a line which reads ANew Mike Harris Property Tax@ and that such tax bill be prepared and submitted to the Corporate Services Committee for approval. A report was submitted, along with a sample of the new property tax bill design, which outlined various cautions on placing such wording on the tax bill. Attached (Appendix I) is a general description, provided by the Province as a draft, of what is permitted on a tax bill as may be prescribed by regulation. The list is general because we have had no final information on the components of the legislation or when the legislation may be passed but, regulations may be passed retroactive to January 1, 1998.

 Taking into consideration the regulations which may be imposed on the contents of the tax bill, it is recommended that the education portion of the tax bill be clearly identified as AProvincial@. This does not appear to contravene the proposed regulations at this time which state that a municipality must indicate the total amounts of taxes payable for local, upper tier and education purposes.

 Coloured mock-ups of the new property tax bill and mailing envelope will be circulated for Council=s consideration. Staff are recommending the green colour for the tax bill and brochure due to its visual ease and ability to be photocopied. Some of the other colours, like blue, may be mistaken for other bills such as water. The final billing usually includes two brochures, one which is administrative, including such things as payment options, payment methods, assessment appeals, etc., and an additional accompanying brochure which incorporates communication from Council it deemed necessary to all its taxpayers. The brochures do not fall under the provincial regulations. We have not yet started to prepare our administrative brochure because there are still many decisions that need to be made by Council (i.e., due dates, tax policy, etc.), before we can begin designing it. It is anticipated that the brochure will be the same colour as the tax bill. The Council communication brochure may be any colour that Council decides.

 Staff are recommending the mailing envelope be beige in order to ensure that it contains over 50 percent recycled paper, including 10 percent post consumer fibre. This will allow the Environment Canada certification stamp to be placed on the envelope.

 The property tax bill has been designed in consultation with the Access and Equity Centre and has been reviewed for plain language and accessibility . We will be adding messages in various languages on the brochure instructing the public on how to get more information and clarification.

 Council will be considering the 1998 Operating and Capital Budgets beginning April 28, 1998. Depending on the decisions of Council, there may or may not be a need to identify the tax bill with the phrase ANew Mike Harris Property Tax@. As such, it would be appropriate to defer consideration of the decision on the tax bill design to the special meeting of Council, once the final decisions are made on the 1998 Operating and Capital Budgets.

 Conclusions:

 We will need to finalize the design and content of the final tax bill, brochure and envelope in order to allow staff sufficient time to implement all the computer programs, artwork, ordering of supplies, etc., to meet our objectives. Any tax bill design will need to conform to possible legislation to ensure there are no legal ramifications. The tax bill design should be considered at the special meeting of Council pertaining to the 1998 budgets, beginning April 28, 1998.

 Contact Name:

 Ed DeSousa, Phone: 397-4226, Fax: 392-3649.

 Appendix I

 The first part of the proposed legislation refers to items which must appear on a tax bill. This would include the basic information and refers to such items as:

 1.Name of taxpayer;

2.Assessment roll number;

3.Assessed value of property;

4.Property class;

5.Applicable tax rate;

6.Total taxes payable for local, upper tier and education purposes; and

7.Due dates; etc.

 The second part refers to items which must appear on the tax bill, if applicable;

 1.Amount of taxes phased-in, canceled, deferred or for which other relief has been given; and

 2.Items which have been authorized to be added to the tax bill such as utility charges, snow removal, weeds, etc., or special area rates such as local improvements or BIA levies.

 The third part refers to items which must appear on the tax bill or on an attachment such as;

 1.All property class tax ratios;

2.Statement that the tax liability is on the owner; and

3.Places where taxes may be paid.

 The fourth part refers to items which are permissive and may appear on the tax bill such as;

 1.Payment options;

2.Tax calculation formula;

3.Mortgage number;

4.Tax inquiry phone numbers; and

5.Municipal policies such as NSF cheques, receipts, ownership changes, etc.

 The fifth part prohibits any items which are not listed from appearing on the tax bill unless expressly authorized to do so by the Minister.)

 (A copy of the facsimile transmission (February 10, 1998) from the Province=s Municipal Finance Branch respecting the placement of items on a Tax Notice, which was attached to the foregoing report, is on file in the office of the City Clerk.)