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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor A city councillor is laying much of the blame for property tax hikes at the foot of the school board and the provincial government. At Tuesday's city council meeting, Coun. Ken Pawlachuk said he 'can't recall the last time there was a mill rate increase' approved by council. 'If you go back in history in the last quite a few years, I don't think the mill rate in Flin Flon has ever been raised for a long time,' he said. 'The only reason the taxes went up was because of (the) government-funded adjustments (to the market value of each home) that they make every two years, it has nothing to do with us.' Coun. Pawlachuk was referring to the fact that when the provincial government determines the market value of a home has increased, taxes on that home automatically increase (unless the municipality drops the mill rate). Moments later, Coun. Pawlachuk added that 'the last few raises in taxes in Flin Flon, if you go back in history, were (the result of) the school board when they raised their taxes.' While it's true that rising home values and school board decisions have impacted property taxes, city council has not held rates steady. Between 2004 and 2012, council increased the mill rate four times, though only one of those times, in 2007, could be viewed as substantial. Council boosted the mill rate by nearly five per cent in 2007, resulting in a tax increase of $123 on a home worth $100,000. Council also reduced the mill rate twice, most recently in 2010, and held it level three times. See 'Educat..' on pg. 6 Continued from pg. 1 During the same time frame, the school board raised its portion of property taxes, which is differentiated on tax bills, three times. The education tax increased by a total of 13 per cent over that time, nearly double the city's combined rise of 7.42 per cent. The school board has held taxes level each year since 2008 _ despite boosting overall spending in each of those years _ thanks to increased support from the NDP government. It should be noted that even when the mill rate or education taxes did rise, homeowners did not necessarily notice a difference. That's because the NDP has regularly increased the annual provincial grant that goes to homeowners. At Tuesday's meeting, Coun. Pawlachuk addressed his comments to taxpayer advocate Blair Sapergia, who regularly attends council meetings to urge reduced spending and level taxes. He asked Sapergia if he also attends school board meetings, noting that the board's budget is substantially larger than that of the city. Sapergia said he knows Murray Skeavington, chair of the school board, and has told him that if the board boosts taxes, Sapergia will start attending board meetings as well. Coun. Pawlachuk also asked Sapergia, an official with a local trade union that has typically supported the NDP, whether he would be willing to ask the province 'to fix their tax system.' Coun. Pawlachuk called the current method of property taxation inconsistent and 'an antiquated system that is screwing everybody, (including) us.'
