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Another assessment fiasco

May 17, 2018   ·   0 Comments

ONTARIO’S WHACKY SYSTEM of supposedly basing property taxes on a property’s current market value has deservedly faced criticism for grossly under-valuing wind turbines, as part of the provincial Liberals’ green energy program.

Now, Wellington County has discovered that something similar is happening in connection with the assessment of gravel pits.

A resolution passed by Mono Council last week supports Wellington’s bid to appeal criteria that have led to owners of 100-acre pits paying less property tax than owners of homes on a one-acre lot.

It appears that the current basis for assessing the pits was the product of meetings between MPAC and the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, and that it occurred without any consultation with affected municipalities.

The new criteria agreed upon by the two parties apparently replaces a system where pits we taxed at the same level as property zoned for industrial use.

As we see it, owners of gravel pits ought to be paying municipalities at least enough to cover the damage their trucks do to the municipal and county road systems.

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