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Wednesday, April 25, 2012
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City soaks up fees
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RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
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Jacob and Cassidy Mclaughlin entertain themselves with a window during the Vernon Home and Leisure Show at the Vernon Curling Club Sunday.
Tax impact higher than planned the average house.” The actual impact will vary based on an indiVernon’s tax burden will be more than antici- vidual property’s assessment. pated. While other municipalities provide Council recently approved a 1.7 per details of a tax increase for an average propcent tax increase but it was determined erty, city staff did not compile those details Monday that only refers to the overall based on the direction of previous councils. hike in the city’s tax requisition. The Mayor Rob Sawatzky admits the city actual impact on the average home — needs to take steps to ensure transparency. assessed at $333,676 — will be 4.06 per “Confusion serves no one well,” he said, cent or $37.53 in 2012. adding some residents may believe their “I’m quite concerned about this,” said taxes are just going up 1.7 per cent. Brian Quiring Coun. Bob Spiers. That is also an issue for Coun. Brian “I am not voting for 4.06 per cent on Quiring.
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“We’re not being clear with the citizens as to what the impact will be,” he said. “To come out now with this, doesn’t look good.” The 2012 budget will not be reopened but a special meeting will be held April 30 at 1 p.m. to discuss tax ratios for residential, commercial and industrial classifications. “We will be reviewing the mechanism of how the 1.7 per cent is raised among taxpayers,” said Sawatzky, adding that the goal is to ease the burden on residential taxpayers while not placing significant pressure on their industrial/commercial counterparts. The 2012 budget must be adopted by May 15.
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City of Vernon coffers are taking a hit because of unpaid fees. Council decided Monday to write off $178,850 in fees linked to the Rise housing development, which experienced financial challenges more than three years ago. “We are in line with a number of other creditors and the chance of getting anything back is slim,” said Mayor Rob Sawatzky. Of the $178,850, $128,312 is from the city’s former fast-track process, in which a company paid a fee to have its development application expedited. “The fast-track fees didn’t cover all of the work done (by city staff),” said Sawatzky. Coun. Patrick Nicol is disappointed with the situation. “Legally, there is no way to reclaim this money. We’ve exhausted all legal avenues,” he said. The lost fees will be absorbed within the city’s operating budget. The 735-acre Rise was awarded protection from its lenders and creditors by the Supreme Court of B.C. in late 2008. The city’s fast-track policy was implemented in the early 2000s and Sawatzky says it is no longer in use.