The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
City council's proposal to raise taxes on low-end homes went before regulators last week, with both supporters and opponents agreeing the plan carries far-reaching consequences. More than 40 people packed a Manitoba Municipal Board hearing at the city hall council chambers to decide whether council can modify how police and fire protection is funded. 'The increases are, I think, minimal,' Mayor George Fontaine told the board, noting that the biggest increase on any single property would be $375 next year. Discrepancy During impassioned testimony, Mayor Fontaine said council must lessen the 'huge discrepancy' between taxes for low-end and high-end properties in Flin Flon. The mayor said high-end homeowners pay an excessive share of taxes, with the problem worsening as the value of high-end homes rises while low-end homes decline or hold steady. Armed with a document headlined 'Not So Fun Facts,' Mayor Fontaine said just 27 per cent of Flin Flon taxpayers shoulder 50 per cent of the tax burden. Flin Flon's tax rate for high-end homes has become uncompetitive with those of Creighton, Denare Beach and nearby cottage subdivisions, the mayor argued. To illustrate his point, Mayor Fontaine said taxes on his own home, among the more costly in Flin Flon, would be one-third to one-half lower if it were located in one of those neighbouring areas. See 'Hikes' on pg. Continued from pg. Flin Flon can no longer afford to hike taxes on high-end homes, the mayor said, because in time there won't be any high-end homeowners left. But in his testimony before the board, Coun. Skip Martin said he fears the proposal could force 'some of our most vulnerable residents' out of their homes. Coun. Martin, the only councillor opposed to the plan, said residents choose to live in high-end homes while those in low-end homes are generally there out of necessity. There may be some low-end homeowners who could afford to spend more, Coun. Martin said, but the city has no way of identifying them. The fairest method of taxation, Coun. Martin said, is the current system whereby all homeowners pay the same mill rate. Similar concerns came from Dennis Hydamaka, a Lord's Bounty Food Bank volunteer who worries the plan, along with pending hikes to city utility bills, will have many clients 'severely' dipping into their food budgets. 'Five dollars is big bucks to them,' Hydamaka said. Most food bank clients are renters, and Hydamaka wondered whether their landlords will willingly absorb the added costs rather than passing them on to tenants. An owner of what would be considered a low-end home, Brian Taylor, shared with the board the health challenges that are the main reason he lives on a fixed income. 'To me, it would be an excess burden to have to pay more,' Taylor told the three members of the board present. As a single person who owns a house, Taylor said he feels that he already subsidizes families who pay his same water and sewer rates despite using those services far more often. Another objector, Paul Bischoff, called council's plan an attempt to shift the tax burden from people who will make a nice capital gain when they sell their property to those who will not be so fortunate. But Mayor Fontaine was not alone in speaking in favour of the proposal. Long-time resident Bruce Reid called council's plan 'a fair deal' for low-end homeowners to enjoy the same amenities as other residents. While some low-end homeowners pay $500 in taxes a year, Reid said some high-end homeowners pay that much in one month. Another supporter, Tom Heine, told the board that unless the tax system is changed, 'our city is going to go belly up.' Heine said council has 'done one helluva good job' despite being 'painted into a corner' financially by costly mandates from the provincial government, including the new water treatment plant. No 'big daddy' In her testimony, Katy Anderson said Hudbay is no longer the 'big daddy' paying for multiple services in Flin Flon, so if residents have to pay some additional taxes, it is time to do so and move on. Anderson said a friend who lives in a low-end home agrees that her taxes should be higher. Greg East, a landlord who owns multiple Flin Flon properties, told the board he also backs the proposal. East said no one wants to see Flin Flon go broke, but that is where the city is headed, and he agreed that the taxation discrepancy between high-end and low-end is unfair. Council's application to the board calls for the change to be implemented only in 2014. If it is approved and works well, council would apply for longer-term approval. Since last week's hearing related only to a one-year approval, Cal Huntley, a former city councillor, told the board he conditionally supports the application. Huntley said reviewing the new system after one year will be vital to see where and whether it is inflicting 'real pain.' Huntley said he still has concerns about the impact on low-income residents, who would be 'very hurt' if the new system is combined with utility rate increases and a possible broad reassessment of properties. Bill Barlow, chair of the board, made no guarantees but said the board would like to reach its binding decision on the matter within 30 to 35 days of the hearing date. Barlow joined fellow board members Marilyn Walder and Ed Hart in listening to testimony and asking questions of the presenters. Council has applied to the board to fund police and fire services through a uniform fee rather than property taxes that apply to the assessed value of a home. The fee itself would be $550 in 2014, but, as Mayor Fontaine pointed out, the highest increase for any single property would be $375. Increases would vary according to the value of a property. The end result would see low-end homes pay more money and high-end homes save money. Some of the tax increases on low-end homes would be covered by the Manitoba government through its property tax rebate.
