News:

Ward 1 suffers from unacceptable reassessment tax hike: Councillor McHattie takes action!

October 20, 2005

Ward 1 City Councillor Brian McHattie is recommending that every resident in his ward appeal their property assessment, recently issued by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). Councillor McHattie describes the provincial property reassessment increases as outrageous and totally unacceptable. Recently, Ward 1 residents received notice from MPAC that they had the highest increase in reassessed property value across Hamilton. McHattie will be meeting with MPAC to discuss the impact of the reassessment and the reasons for the increases.

“Ward 1 residents, particularly seniors on fixed incomes, cannot afford to have their homes reassessed annually at exorbitant and unrealistic values,” said Councillor McHattie. McHattie will also continue to ask for income producing properties such as student houses to be assessed higher than surrounding family-occupied homes.

This past week, City Council was notified that the preliminary provincial reassessment data indicates that municipal taxes may increase an average 7.4 per cent in Ward 1, before Council even begins the 2006 budget process. If for example, Council continues the pattern of 2.5 to three per cent levy-based tax increase, Ward 1 residents could be faced with an average 10 per cent tax increase – 70 per cent of which is the responsibility of the Province of Ontario through MPAC.

In addition, McHattie will be working with his Council colleagues to request that the Province allow the City of Hamilton to mitigate reassessment tax shifts between property tax classes through tax ratio adjustments, and investigate assessment averaging to mitigate continued swings in property assessment values. McHattie will be meeting with Hamilton West MPP, Judy Marsales to seek her assistance in mitigating the provincial-level Ward 1 tax increase.

To learn more about appealing your assessment please see the MPAC site at www.mpac.ca. Watch for ongoing updates on this issue on this website.