world19News #157 |
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world19News This e-mail is going to people on the mailing list for world19. If you don't want to receive further notices, please reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject. Let us know if you prefer to receive this in "plain text" format. Please forward this to anyone you think may be interested. The theme of this issue seems to be public involvement & public input: Residents Associations new and old; community views on how our neighbourhood might develop; the City solicits your views. But there's always MPAC to help discourage the idea that public involvement matters. Here's what we have in this issue: 1. SWANSEA RATEPAYERS FUNDRAISER - Nov. 18 SARA is holding its annual fund raiser this week. We are selling tickets for the preview of "Greetings" the latest offering from our own local The Bloor West Village Players to be performed on Thursday Nov. 18th at 8:00PM. Tickets are $16 and everyone is welcome. Location of the theatre: 2190 Bloor opposite the No Frills
store and their phone # is 416-767-7702. 2. BWV RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION - Inaugural meeting -
Nov. 16 Here is a link to the Villager's article on the association: http://www.insidetoronto.ca/to/bloorw/story/2338189p-2708120c.html
3. BWV VISIONING STUDY: Public meeting Nov. 29 A public meeting will be held to present the draft document
prepared as a result of work done by the Study's Steering Committee and also from a summer
workshop: If we receive the draft document in an appropriate format before the meeting, we'll post it on the world19 website. (It will be a very large PDF file). 4. TORONTO: Looking for input a) Listening to Toronto: - Nov. 28 http://www.toronto.ca/listeningtotoronto/index.htm Sunday November 28, 2004 Event starts at 1 p.m. Doors open at noon. Metro Toronto Convention Centre City Council has set priorities for the next two years. Come
discuss the City's priorities and, in small groups, give your advice to Council on
questions such as: Toronto Public Service Displays Participants must pre-register for the session as space is limited. To register call Access Toronto: 416-338-0338 b) New single zoning bylaw: http://www.toronto.ca/zoning/index.htm The website above gives information on how to participate online, and as well there are public open houses. Those closest to our area: Etobicoke Civic Centre Foyer, 399 The West Mall Monday, November 22, 2004, 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. Toronto City Hall Rotunda, 100 Queen Street West Wednesday, November 24, 2004, 3:00 to 9:00 p.m.
4. MPAC - Still more... Here is some more input from one of our subscribers who has been actively involved in the issue. Here is an article from the Toronto Sun about MPAC and its problematic property valuation system. The writer hits the nail on the head in identifying three essential questions about the system: "...what has the value of our home got to do with the cost of services we receive? How does it reflect our ability to pay, especially if we haven't realized the gain? And what happens if real estate prices crash?" As well, of course, MPAC's valuation methodology is seriously
flawed and consequently there are huge swings from cycle to cycle on particular streets. Pre-Hearing on October 15/04 MPAC had offered, in writing, to reduce the valuations for the 3 residents on Ellis Park Rd by 8% which was the average "overvaluation" for that street that MPAC would admit to. We knew that some individual properties had been "overvalued" by much more. To avoid going before the Assessment Review Board for a formal hearing, MPAC "negotiated" a 13.6% reduction for the 3 people from Ellis Park Road, who had appealed. There is, of course, no justice in this resolution for all of the other residents on Ellis Park Road, at least. All other residents should have been entitled to the same treatment but were not because they had not appealed their assessments or had settled their appeals earlier. The really sad thing is that MPAC itself suffers no penalty for reducing the indiviual valuations as the refunds of taxes come from the already cash-strapped City of Toronto. This poorly-thought-out system has to go! Two of the residents still have issues outstanding for other properties. Their next pre-hearing date is February 15, 2005. Toronto Sun article: Make MVA Go Away Assessments unfair, argues Linda Leatherdale by Linda Leatherdale, Business Editor, Toronto Sun. October 3, 2004 Across Ontario, homeowners are screaming over skyrocketing property assessments. Some are heartwrenching stories of financial hardship and fear of being turfed from their homes, because they can't afford rising property tax bills. Especially hard hit are seniors on fixed income. This insanity is thanks to the Tories, who took a flawed property tax system with one of the highest tax burdens in the country, and made it even worse with MVA (market value assessment.) They told us it was "fairer and more equitable" as they pegged our property tax bills to the current value of our homes. Of course, in a record hot real estate market, values have been going through the roof. Property taxes are based on a formula that includes the assessed value and the municipal mill rate. My beef is what has the value of our home got to do with the cost of services we receive? How does it reflect our ability to pay, especially if we haven't realized the gain? And what happens if real estate prices crash? Well, here's more proof this system may be broke. A married couple, who both work for the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. (MPAC) in eastern Ontario, own a sweet piece of property in the country. That property is currently up for sale by the owner and can be viewed at www.maplehillestate.com The three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, single-family detached home was built in 1992 and has 1,776 square feet of living space. The asking price: $326,000. Now, here's where it gets interesting: The assessed value of the three-bedroom home, as of June 30, 2003 is $198,000. That's a gap of $128,000, or a 65% difference. Mike Contant, MPAC account manager of municipal relations for eastern Canada, stands behind the assessment. "In relationship to all the other properties in the area, it is fairly assessed," he said in an interview. But he added if the property were to sell close to the listing price, that could trigger a review of the assessments. He pointed out Kingston is a "robust market." Contant was also adamant about this: "I can tell you, absolutely, there is no influence because they are employees of MPAC." Another assessment that could raise eyebrows takes us to Toronto's upscale Bridle Path, and the estate of fallen media mogul Conrad Black. The palatial mansion of 14,357 square feet includes five bedrooms, nine full baths and two half-baths sits on 6.59 acres. MPAC has assessed its value at $7.413 million, effective June 30, 2003. Black bought the property in 1989 from his father for $700,000. The home is not for sale, but appraisers have pegged its value at anywhere from $15-to-$20 million, which is a minimum of 100% greater than the assessed value. One tax expert, by the way, estimates a gap of $2 million between the assessed and current value of the home means municipal coffers are forfeiting $18,000 in property tax revenue. Bottomline is, MPAC has been the target of many complaints -- and a memo from the corporation to municipal clerks and treasurers across Ontario this past summer admits it. The memo states MPAC has received complaints ranging from the quality of its assessment and enumeration data, the accuracy of assessed values to staffing levels, the cost-effectiveness of its products and services, plus the impact annual assessments will have on taxpayers. "It's important we listen to their concerns and we work with our municipal partners," said Arthur Anderson, MPAC's director of municipal relations. Tomorrow, MPAC holds its annual meeting in Waterloo, in conjunction with an Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference that kicks off today and winds up Wednesday. Queen's Park, meanwhile, is giving MPAC more time to complete its next round of assessments, with a deadline of Jan. 1, 2005. My solution to this madness: Scrap MVA and go back to the drawing board. In California, a property tax revolt led to Proposition 13. The time has come for Ontario.
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