Clip and keep handy for election time!

"Just because your property value goes up, it doesn't mean your taxes are going up,"—Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond, in response to the recent arrival of property assessments in Prince Rupert mailboxes.

If the common routine is followed, Saturday, November 15, 2008 will be Election Day in Prince Rupert (and across the province), as the city’s voting age population will once again cast their votes for mayor, council and school board positions.

Perhaps that annual march of democracy every three years may work in the favour of Prince Rupert taxpayer, as the recently delivered BC Assessment numbers, which brought tidings of intrigue for local residents as far as the value of their homes goes, morph into the process which can make changes to your property tax situation.

Of course, considering the rate of taxation in Prince Rupert as it is now, it would be a brave group of elected officials to drastically change the taxation dynamic based on the latest figures from BC Assessment, especially with an election date already set for the public for mid November.

The Mayors comments and thoughts on the process of taxation, assessment and housing were found in Wednesday’s edition of the Daily News.

RISING HOUSE PRICES NEED NOT MEAN RISING TAXES: POND
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily news
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Page one

Property assessments may have risen between 10 and 30 per cent for the average homeowner this year, but that doesn't necessarily mean that people will be paying more in property taxes.
Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond said that as the property assessments have increased in recent years, the city has been lowering the actual line rate used to calculate taxes per $1,000 in assessed value in order to offset that rise.

"Just because your property value goes up, it doesn't mean your taxes are going up," said Pond.
"What people need to watch for is if their property has gone up a lot, or more than their neighbours', they really should have a close look at it and contemplate whether they want to make an appeal to the assessment authority."

B.C. Assessment mailed out 6,300 property assessment notices in early January and while homes rose on average in value by 10 to 30 per cent, commercial properties rose on average between 15 and 25 per cent.

Pond explained that if a person's house went up more than the average, they would see their proportion of taxes increase for this year.

"It's like being part of a herd, as long as you are part of the herd you are fine but if you get away from the herd, you are a little more exposed," he said.

"If the average increase is around 15 per cent and you went up 15 per cent, you are fine. But if the average increase is 15 per cent and you went up 40 per cent, you are going to be taxed more than the rest of the herd and you better be confident that is an accurate reflection of your property."

Assessments are the estimate of a property's market value as of July 1, 2007. This common valuation date ensures that all properties are assessed fairly and there is an equitable base for property taxation.

The real estate market creates property value, which is reported annually by BC Assessment. Local governments and other taxing authorities are responsible for property taxation, and after determining their own budget needs this spring, will determine their property tax rates based on B.C. Assessment's data.

Pond said it is too early in the year to determine whether council will need to generate more revenue to meet the city's expenses this year.

"We have dealt with the fees and there were increased costs in operating that," said Pond. The city increased both water and sewer and recreation fees for 2008 earlier this year.

"But we don't know what the cost of operating the rest of the services will be. We are certainly continuing to keep those costs as low as possible because we recognize although things are better than they were, people are still struggling to get caught up again. I know from general discussions at council, councillors want to keep the costs kept as low as possible."