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Tonight’s meeting is being held as a request of Council to review the current tax status in the Townships of Bernhardt and Morrisette.
It was scheduled to provide the members of the public with the history of annexation and the development of the subdivisions, along with an understanding of the municipal policy that has changed since 1984.
Town staff are here only to provide recommendations to Council, based on the research, policy in place at this time, and our conversations here tonight. We are not making a decision.
We are happy to hear from you, and look forward to your input, however we do expect to be respected as we run through the facts we’ve collected for the purpose of tonight’s meeting.
You will have an opportunity to speak once the presentation is complete.
Opening Remarks
1. Silence all mobile phones
2. Speak to the issue and not the individual
3. Listen to each others opinion, especially if you don’t agree with it
4. Don’t interrupt or have conversations while others are speaking
5. Don’t make accusations, threats or rude comments
6. Stay positive
7. Show respect for your fellow neighbour, citizen and townspeople
8. Remember - despite our perceived disagreements, we are all playing for team Kirkland Lake
Ground Rules
What brought us to annexation?
1945 • 99-Year leases were established with Deloye and various cottagers
1970 • Formation of Cottager’s Association
1975 • Ministry of Transportation and Communications recommended that legislation be put in place to have zoning control over areas surrounding airports
• By-law 75-72 was passed by Council to direct staff to make application to OMB for annexation of B & M.
1976 • Cottager’s needed full title to their land in order for the banks to permit mortgages • Surveyor hired to begin subdivision process
1980 • Request from Prov. Government as part of subdivision review to ensure public access to the lake. Cottager’s Association request TKL to dedicate a portion of land as road allowance for the purpose of creating “public access”. Town denies this request.
• Town requests MOH to pass a zoning order on unorganized territory to safeguard the Airport; MOH states application for annexation has been submitted, and proper direction would be to wait until annexation occurs and pass a Zoning By-law Amendment to include B & M Townships
1980 • Annexation was the necessary solution for Plan of Subdivision and safeguarding of the Airport. • By-law 80-20 annexing B and M read a first time.
1981 • By-law 80-20 annexing B and M read a second and third time.
1982 • In January, OMB orders in favour of annexation.
1983 • Application submitted to the Board for the approval of By-law 83-83, to define USA and the manner in which properties will be levied.
1984 • In April, OMB orders in favour of B & M sharing in all capital and operating costs to the extent no greater than 35%.
Goodfish Lake – Phase I
Approved by MOH prior to annexation
Road assumed by TKL after annexation
Road was never brought up to TKL standard, only Rural MOH standard
Never maintained by the TKL
Subdivision Agreements
Bernhardt Dr
Airport Rd
Harvey Dr
Bern
hard
t Dr.
Goodfish R
d
48004800
92
94
102
5041
64
484644
100
41
263438
78
74
72
70
68
66
6056 58
545250
96
98
108
17
5048
5060
26
86
82
80
62
90
106
41 2914
5077
22
84
76
Goodfish – Phase II
Approved May 29/1984
All residential roadways and drainage works to be constructed and installed in accordance with TKL requirements
Roads assumed by TKL: By-law 91-033 passed on April 2, 1991
Subdivision Agreements Bernhardt Dr
Airport Rd
Harvey Dr
Bern
hard
t Dr.
Goodfish R
d
48004800
92
94
102
5041
64
484644
100
41
263438
78
74
72
70
68
66
6056 58
545250
96
98
108
17
5048
5060
26
86
82
80
62
90
106
41 2914
22
84
76
Goodfish Area
Approved Oct. 3/1989
Harvey Drive assumed by TKL: By-law 91-033 passed on April 2, 1991
Portion of Goodfish Road assumed by TKL: By-law 92-027 passed on March 3, 1992
Subdivision Agreements
Bernhardt Dr
Airport Rd
Harvey Dr
Bern
hard
t Dr.
Goodfish R
d
NETTIE LAKE R
OAD
48004800
9294
41
5041
64
52484644
108
17
5048
263438
86
78
74
7270
6866
65
626056 58
5450
90
9698
106
41 14 5060
5077
2226
84
82
80
76
58
65
29
Nettie Lake
Approved Oct. 1/2002
No road maintenance from Airport Road
No road maintenance on internal roadways
Subdivision Approvals
Deloye Cres
Pinetree Rd
Pinetree Rd
NET
TIE
LAKE
RO
AD
SAND
Y DR
IVE
27
63
71
116
95
120
31
43
3
116
24
78
124
124
In 1978, there were only a few year round homes recorded in Bernhardt and Morrisette. There was a total of 46 cottages and 3 service clubs on Nettie Lake and 3 recorded dwellings on Goodfish Lake.
According to the 2016 MPAC, there are 51 houses assessed as “year-round” and 40 assessed as seasonal in all of Bernhardt & Morrisette.
Changing Neighbourhoods
1) Not every property owner uses every service provided by a municipality.
2) Municipal infrastructure is not equal on every street just like property values are not equal.
3) Tax burden should be applied equally to those who have access to the municipal service.
4) Where ever a municipality restricts access to a service, tax burden should be evaluated for the greater common good or correspondingly reduced.
a) Education taxes are paid equally by every property owner regardless if they have children attending school or not.
b) Special Area Ratings may be applied to properties where the municipality chooses to restricts certain services.
Principles of Equity & Fairness in Property Tax Policy
1. Properties assessed under ‘residential’ classification: 3 year-round properties in Harvey Kirkland Dr. – taxed at 100% 9 in Bernhardt – taxed at 35% 82 in Morrisette – taxed at 35% 2,179 in Teck Township (Kirkland Lake, Chaput Hughes and Swastika) – taxed at 100%
2. 91 - Bernhardt & Morrisette residents do not receive municipal curbside garbage collection,
water/sewer services and road maintenance is split between the town and local residents. Road maintenance requirement was stipulated as part of subdivision agreements.
3. 3 - Harvey Kirkland residents do not receive municipal curbside garbage collection, water/sewer services and some but not all road maintenance. No subdivision agreement is in place.
4. 7 - Properties along Goodfish Road in Teck Township, do not received water/sewer services. 5. This does not apply to commercial, industrial, forested lands, agricultural lands, multi-
residential or institutional property classifications.
Municipal Tax Policy Current Situation
1994 – Federal gov’t downloads airports across the country 1998 – Provincial gov’t - ‘Local Services Realignment’ downloading new costs:
Property Assessments (MPAC) Social Housing Land Ambulance Long-term care Social Assistance (some costs have since been uploaded since 2016) 911 services Public Health Police/OPP Secondary highways Provincial Court Administration (has been uploaded in 2016)
1999 – MPAC comes into force, standardization across the province. 2006 - Ontario Regulation 585/06 prevents public health from being area-rated 2017 – TKL removes wastewater from property tax levy
What has changed since 1984
1. Water & Sewer services are no longer paid for by property taxes but everyone who uses the
service is billed directly.
2. The current tax area rating has resulted with inadvertently having a pre-designed structural inequity of the property tax burden between Teck Township (Harvey Kirkland, Chaput Hughes, Swastika and Kirkland Lake) and Bernhardt & Morrisette Township property owners.
3. Harvey Kirkland Dr properties are inadvertently penalized even further, since they have the same deficiency in municipal services but are taxed at 100%
4. Goodfish Rd residents on the Teck Township side get taxed at 100% and do get curbside garbage, (our truck turns around) however, they have every other characteristics as their neighbours meters down the road in Morrisette who are taxed at 35%.
Current situation cont’d
Your property value X (the municipal tax rate + education rate)
MPAC determines property values
Municipal tax rate is calculated by what revenue the town needs to raise to fund all programs and services it provides.
Education rate is set by the Province. (whether you have children in school or not, everyone pays this portion)
Recap of How Property Taxes are calculated
In addition to the municipal tax rate area set by council, MPAC assesses some 200 factors for each property but also provides site-access adjustments as follows:
No Access = - 75% applied to the total property value
Private Access = - 10% applied to the total property value
Right-of-Way Access = - 10% applied to the total property value
Seasonal Access = - 10% applied to the total property value
Water Access = - 37% applied to the total property value
Island Access = - 37% applied to the total property value
Source: Market Valuation Report Residential Properties - Rural Timmins Area, pg. 17
Homeowners can log on to their MPAC Account and get copy of the Report
MPAC Policy current situation
Roads (as per MPAC ratings) Bernhardt Township Morrisette Township
Residential (not on water) 0 11
Harvey Dr 0 7
Goodfish Rd 0 3
Airport Rd 0 1
Single Detached on Water 9 30
Bernhardt Dr 9 (Goodfish Lake) 19 (Goodfish Lake)
Pinetree Rd 0 10 (Nettie Lake)
Deloye Cres 0 1 (Nettie Lake)
Mobile Home 0 1
Airport Road 0 1
Residential MPAC Breakdown
Roads (as per MPAC rating) Bernhardt Township Morrisette Township
Seasonal Dwelling on water 0 39
Bernhardt Dr 0 1 (Goodfish Lake)
Pinetree Rd 0 6 (Nettie Lake)
Deloye Cres 0 4 (Nettie Lake)
Sandy Dr 0 18 (Nettie Lake)
Public Right of Way 0 4 (Nettie Lake)
Water Access Only 0 1 (Nettie Lake)
Other (private access) 0 5 (Joyce, Dorothy, Lawgraves)
Campground 0 1
Public Right of Way 0 1 (Nettie Lake)
TOTAL Developed Properties (both pages)
9 82
Residential MPAC Breakdown
1. Does the municipal reduced taxed area + the MPAC assessment site-access reductions on some properties offer a double-credit advantage to some of the Bernhardt & Morrisette properties compared to all other properties both within Bernhardt & Morrisette and all of Teck?
2. What municipal services does the municipality deny/restrict property owners of Harvey Kirkland Dr, Bernhardt & Morrisette that should warrant a special rate?
Equity & Fairness question to consider
Town Council By-law Enforcement Animal Control Building Permits & Inspections Airport Landfill Public Health Cemetery Social & Family Services Social Housing Parks Recreation Library Museum Heritage North Tourism Planning, zoning & development MPAC Police Ambulance Fire
All roads, sidewalks, parking lots, parking, crosswalks, traffic lights located in Teck Township Not available: Curbside garbage collection & some road maintenance (next slide)
List of Municipal Services available to Harvey Kirkland Dr, Bernhardt & Morrisette
Breakdown of all municipal owned roads in Bernhardt & Morrisette Townships
Road Total km / residential assessed
% municipal costs responsibility
% local residents costs responsibility
Airport Rd 1.06 / 2 res 100% (1.06 km) N/A
Goodfish Rd 1.91 / 3 res 100% (1.91 km) N/A
Harvey Dr. 0.80 / 7 res 100% (0.80 km) N/A
Bernhardt Dr. 1.50 / 29 res 29.3% (0.44 km) 70.6% (1.06 km)
Nettie Lake Rd 1.72 / 0 res N/A 100% (1.72 km)
Pinetree Rd 1.20 / 16 res N/A 100% (1.20 km)
Deloye Cres 0.29 / 5 res N/A 100% (0.29 km)
Sandy Dr. 1.50 / 18 res + 1 island N/A 100% (1.50 km)
Public Right-of-Way Unknown / 5 res N/A (not owned by town) 100%
Other Unknown / 5 res N/A (not owned by town) 100%
TOTAL 9.98 km / 91 res 42.1 % (4.21 km) 57.9% (5.77 km)
*Approximate measurements.
Residential properties in Harvey Kirkland Dr, Bernhardt and Morrisette do face costs when the municipality restricts/denies them services, and these include:
1. Property fire insurance premiums are higher due to the lack of municipal fire hydrants.
(this applies to some other properties in town in addition to the Goodfish Rd – Teck side)
2. Curbside garbage collection is not provided by the municipality.
3. Road maintenance for some of the public roads around Goodfish Lake and all around Nettie Lake is not provided by the municipality as was agreed to in subdivision agreement.
4. Harvey Kirkland Dr has no subdivision agreement, but some of the road is not maintained by municipality.
Harvey Kirkland, Bernhardt & Morrisette current situation
1. Are there any roads in Teck Township without traffic lights, traffic signs, crosswalks, parking lots, or marked parking spots?
2. Are there any roads in Teck Township without street lighting?
3. Are there any roads in Teck Township unpaved?
4. Are there any roads in Teck Township without sidewalks?
5. Are there any roads in Teck Township as private access?
6. Any by-laws that the municipality restricts/denies road access located in Teck Township to residents of Bernhardt & Morrisette?
Determining unique municipal characteristics?
7. Are there any properties in Teck Township without sanitary sewer?
8. Are there any properties in Teck Township without water/fire hydrant services?
9. Do Teck Township owners have an issue with the amount of property taxes they pay, or is it only an issue with owners in Bernhardt & Morrisette?
10. Are there any pensioners, low-income, widows, or families with small children in Teck Township who are stressed about their property taxes or do they only live in Bernhardt and Morrisette?
11. Is there something uniquely different in Bernhardt & Morrisette that doesn’t exist in Teck Township when it comes to municipal services that should warrant a special rate?
Determining unique municipal characteristics?
Downloaded costs coupled with changes to the Municipal Act and education funding were never anticipated back in 1984.
Revenue neutral for the Town. Town does not collect more taxes, however the tax burden is shifted to be more equitable and fair to all properties.
Tax area ratings should not offer a double-credit to some property owners and/or should not be used for addressing property assessment pressures.
Tax area ratings should only consider what is truly a unique, special or restricted municipal service denied to a certain geographic area. All other services that are available throughout the municipality should be treated as a common public good, no different than the education tax, regardless if one chooses to use it or not.
Special Area Rating - Tax Rate Policy
Municipal records indicate updating the agreement has been requested from the town administration repeatedly since 1990.
1990 – CAO Sherratt asks for updating of agreement
1995 – CAO Gary Shay asks council to review agreement
1997 – CAO Gary Shay asks council to update agreement
1998 – Lawyer Murray Ellies’ opinion for the need to update agreement
2004 – internal documents regarding burden pressures
2009 – internal documents regarding burden pressures
2016 – KMPG report identifies removing wastewater from levy
2017 – May - Council approves a 5% increase to tax rate (subsequently reversed)
2017 – Oct – Council approves staff request to hold public meeting (today)
Why now, is this something new?
Municipal Act, 2001 gives town council sole discretion and authority to remove 1984 OMB by-law, and/or create a special tax area rating.
Under Municipal Act, 2001 - No appeal - OMB has no jurisdiction
Under Municipal Act, 2001 – No external costing of services required, council has authority to determine costs and rates.
Changes can be phased-in over multiple years.
Regardless who pays for road maintenance, Town may be held liable to any litigation involving accidents/claims for all approved subdivision roads and municipal owned roads.
Legal Opinion Provided to Town
Suggested phased-in with increments capped between 5-10% per year for both sides*
*Bernhardt & Morrisette residents will have an increase and Teck Township residents will have a decrease.
Suggested phase-in should take between 7-13 years depending on annual cap.
How would a tax change work?
1. Public Health costs are currently going against the Municipal Act and should have been updated in 2006.
2. Town is ultimately liable for municipal roads so this exposes the whole Corporation to risk - however cost of risk is proportionately funded by using the existing tax area ratings calculation.
3. Town already maintains & pays for approximately 42% of the municipal roads in Bernhardt & Morrisette.
4. Do MPAC adjustments offer a double credit to areas with a lower tax rate?
5. How does one explain the inequity for Goodfish Rd – Teck side owners which get curbside collection for a 65% difference in their property taxes from their neighbours meters down the road who don’t but yet share all other characteristics?
6. How does one explain the inequity for Harvey Krikland Dr owners to be penalized for not getting the same services as Bernhardt & Morrisette but pay 100% of the tax rate?
Factors to weigh in making recommendation
7. How does one explain the inequity in Nettie Lake and Goodfish Lake owners paying out of pocket for road maintenance, when the town approved the subdivision plans?
8. How does one explain the inequity for owners in Bernhardt, Morrisette and Harvey Kirkland not getting curbside collection?
9. How does one explain the inequity for Nettie Lake and Goodfish Lake owners to continue to live on roads that are not to TKL standards?
10. Why has an annexation that was originally requested by seasonal cottage owners so they can have title to their deed some 40 so years ago, not been updated when the dwelling make up has changed, and there has been repeated requests from town administration?
11. Why has the town allowed there to be a divide between neighbours and the different taxes they pay when the overwhelming majority of municipal services are available to all?
Factors to weigh in making recommendation
1. Do nothing, continue with status quo.
2. Hire and pay for an independent consultant to do a study.
3. Put a question on the ballot on next years election, and after 40 years of this issue let the people have their say directly.
4. Consider the recommendation that the town staff ends up suggesting.
5. Other.
Options available to Council
1. How should the town come into compliance with Municipal Act for Public Health costs?
2. How should the town address Harvey Kirkland Drive?
3. How should the town address the neighbours living on Goodfish Rd in Teck who are taxed at 100% just meters from the ones living on Goodfish Rd in Morrisette who are taxed at 35%?
4. What is the appropriate way to handle the risk associated with all municipal-owned roads across Bernhardt & Morrisette Townships when some roads are currently not to TKL standard?
5. What is the appropriate way to handle curbside collection across Bernhardt & Morrisette?
6. What is an equitable and consistent approach to tax properties throughout the entire municipality regardless of geography?
7. Why shouldn’t the municipal tax rate be treated the same as the education tax rate? (It is currently set up like this in Teck Township)
Questions for the Audience
Goodfish Lake
1 cm:5000 cm
Bernhardt/Morrisette and Teck Townships1:5000 scale
WO 1713Planning Division
November 14, 2017±Legend
Parcel Fabric RoadsLakes
Goodfish Lake
Nettie Lake
Lancaster Lake
Joyce Lake
Seely Lake
Lawgraves Lake
Amikougami Lake
Dorothy Lake
Rathwell Lake
Dorah Lake
Midget Lake
Edwards Lake
Emms Lake
Greyvala Lake
Bernhardt & Morrisette TownshipsTax rate set at 35%
±
0 1,000Meters
WO 1713Planning Division
November 7, 2017
LEGEND
Parcel FabricRoadsLakesAirport Runway
MPAC ClassificationCROWNTKL100, 101, 110 - Vacant Residential301, 313 - Residential (not on water); 313 - Single Family detached on water - year round residence381 - Mobile home (not a mobile home park operation)391 - Seasonal/recreational dwelling - first tier on water
Goodfish Lake
Nettie LakeRathwell LakeMidget Lake
Bernhardt & Morrisette TownshipsRoad Maintenance
±
0 1,000Meters
WO 1713Planning Division
November 14, 2017
Road MaintenanceMaintainedUnmaintained
LegendParcel FabricLakesAirport Runway
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