A group of Midland residents will press council Wednesday to reconsider the tax increase approved after lengthy budget deliberations held in February.
The presenters will be Yvonne Tietz, Howie Major, and Rod Lundy. Tietz who has previously spoken to MidlandToday about the petition saying the group, Midland Concerned Citizens, wants council and staff to revisit the budget and find areas that can greatly reduce the tax increase of 2.5% to 0%.
The petition notes that council could easily find the reduction by choosing not to give $600,000 to Midland Bay Landing and save a further $140,000 by not hiring a manager of legal & risk services.
That isn't the only deputation council will receive at this Wednesday's meeting.
Bill Kernohan, the chair of Midland Bay Landing Development Corporation, is also approaching council to give them an update on the interim use area, which aims at showcasing the vision for the property with a 100-metre promenade strip along the coal dock. The presentation will also include an update on the UNESCO Global GeoParks study.
In addition, a virtual public meeting will also be part of the council agenda.
Residents are being invited to participate in the public session to give feedback on the proposed increase to some categories of building fees. The changes recommend a 15% increase to fees in categories including, minimum fee for new structures (from $96/m2 to $110/m2), minimum fee for new residence structures (currently at $1,500/m2).
The bylaw also proposes a 15% increase for high density residential buildings by occupancy (currently at $1.20/ft2 for finished structures and $0.93/ft2 for shells only). A similar change is suggested for all low-density residential structures by occupancy, such as attached garages, carport bay, covered deck/porch and boathouses.
Further categories include renovations and additions to buildings, such as apartment buildings and hotels, as well as low density residential buildings, such as single-detached and semi-detached homes and townhouses.
Part of the consent agenda is a staff report that looks into the impact of financial relief measures waiving interest fees and penalties on property taxes.
The report says tax collections realized in 2020 were within 1% of non-COVID year collection rates, likely due to the financial support provided by the federal government.
"Revenue from interest and penalties contributes to an overall lower tax rate," says the report. "Interest and penalties realized in 2020 were very close to budget despite the relief measures. This variance is attributable to the limited eligible timeframe for the waiving of interest/penalties and the relatively normal collection rate for property taxes."
Further, the staff report says, very few taxpayers accessed the relief measures in 2020.
Under the current circumstances, staff is recommending a limited time penalties and interest waiver or a full year deferment only if county and province reintroduce support program as those present in 2020.
The latter option will not expose the town to any additional financial risk at this time.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and can be viewed on Rogers TV or online via a live stream.
--- with files from Andrew Philips
