TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT

TO: Council DATE: September 18, 2018 FROM: Steven Vella, Manager of Accounting MEETING DATE: September 25, 2018

Write Off Unpaid Property Taxes

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Town of View Royal request the Minister of Municipal Affairs & Housing’s authorization to write off unpaid property taxes of the properties listed in this report pursuant to section 781 of the Local Government Act.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

To consider seeking the Province’s authorization to write off uncollectable property taxes on a number of manufactured homes within the Town.

BACKGROUND DISCUSSION:

Six properties currently owe delinquent taxes to the Town of View Royal which staff deem uncollectible. The folios are part of the original Thetis Lake Campground property and comprise mobile homes that have been removed from the property tax roll effective 2018 tax year.

Under Section 781 of the Local Government Act: ‘The minister may confer on a local government further powers to manage and dispose of assets, including taxation revenue, that the minister considers necessary or advisable.’

The Local Government Act does not provide staff or Council direct authority to write off property taxes. Council is required to adopt a resolution seeking approval from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing to write off taxes. This request includes providing the Ministry with the folio number of the properties in question, the total amount of taxes to be written off for each property and a description of the reason that the taxes are deemed uncollectable.

The Town uses the following methods to collect property taxes:

Tax notices, tax reminder notices and phone calls or letters when required
Notice to registered charge holders of outstanding taxes
Annual tax sale for land and improvements or registering a financial lien against manufactured homes

Staff have made every effort to contact the owners and any charge holders by mail and telephone.

Collections services or small claims court are other options for collecting the outstanding debt, however due to the low dollar value and the fact that property owners have relocated and may be difficult to find make these options less viable in terms of cost versus benefit. The manufactured homes have been removed or destroyed, thus registering a lien or collection via tax sale are not options.

The outstanding taxes total $1,544.38 detailed as follows:

Roll 401 70100.030 $478.03
Roll 401 70100.051 $93.52
Roll 401 70100.070 $147.94
Roll 401 70100.160 $183.64
Roll 401 70100.310 $254.40
Roll 401 70100.460 $386.85

These amounts include taxes levied prior to the 2018 tax year and interest to September 25, 2018. Approximately 60% of the total is general municipal taxes, while the remainder represents collections for other authorities, such as the Capital Regional District, the Province for school taxes, BC Assessment and BC Transit. If the minister approves the request to write-off taxes, these taxing authorities will be asked to write off the related component of the debt.

RECOMMENDATION:

SUBMITTED BY: S. Vella, Manager of Accounting

REVIEWED BY: D. Christenson, Director of Finance

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT - Write Off Unpaid Property Taxes