Big Valley: Council ponders tax payment plan

Big Valley village council is pondering a bylaw that could allow property owners with unpaid tax bills to square up their debts bit by bit. The tax arrears payment plan bylaw was discussed at the Jan. 20 regular meeting of council.

Village Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Colleen Mayne presented councillors with a draft bylaw that would offer a tax arrears instalment payment plan for property owners who want to pay off a debt.

“The Municipal Government Act (MGA) allows for the establishment of a tax arrears plan available to property owners as a means of avoiding the tax recovery program,” stated Mayne’s report to council.

Mayne briefly reviewed the details and time scales of the tax recovery program which essentially takes years to complete and eventually end in either the resident paying off unpaid taxes and municipal expenses or seeing their property auctioned and unpaid property taxes taken out of the proceeds.

Mayne also pointed out that once unpaid tax bills run past a certain date, penalties are also applied plus any other charges that accrued such as utility bills or unsightly premises tickets.

The CAO stated a tax payment plan can help property owners square up with the village and avoid the tax recovery process.

“A tax arrears plan can be applied for to pay off those taxes up to 36 months, including current taxes each year,” stated the CAO’s report to council.

“Not only does this allow the property owner to avoid the tax recovery program, but also freezes penalties over that period with the provision they don’t miss two monthly payments over that period, including payments received by the village after the end of each month.”

Mayne explained that if a property owner who owes unpaid taxes enrols in the proposed payment plan but misses two payments, the plan is cancelled immediately and the debt is considered due.

During discussion the CAO stated that it looks like the village has a few properties with unpaid property tax bills aging enough that they may become delinquent, meaning they could enter the tax recovery phase.

She noted that if a monthly payment plan program is available property owners have up to three years to pay off their debts.

Mayne noted that last year she approached several property owners who are in this situation and explained a monthly payment plan to them and two of them signed such agreements.

There were other property owners though who have unpaid tax bills who did not sign on.

The CAO stated she feels a tax arrears payment plan bylaw would be a fair way to address the issue as the property owners don’t risk losing their property and the village recovers unpaid taxes without having to go through the onerous recovery process.

Coun. Dan Houle stated he thought the village already had a bylaw similar to this on the books. Mayne responded she couldn’t find anything on record.

As councillors discussed the issue of unpaid property taxes in Big Valley the CAO stated the total amount owing is around $100,000.

Coun. Houle wondered if a program like this would make any difference to a property owner who already owes money to the village. At the same time he added people do need chances to set things straight.

Houle stated though that after reading the draft bylaw he felt some of the wording might be too general and not firm enough; for example he pointed out use of the word “may,” and stated that instead the wording could be more firm.

Councillors decided to table the proposed bylaw and discuss it again at a future meeting.

Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review

About the author

Stu Salkeld

Stu Salkeld, who has upwards of 28 years of experience in the Alberta community newspaper industry, is now covering councils and other news in the Stettler region and has experience working in the area as well.

He has joined the ECA Review as a Local Journalism Initiative Journalist.

Stu earned his two-year diploma in print journalism from SAIT in Calgary from 1993 to ’95 and was raised in Oyen, Alta., one of the communities within the ECA Review’s coverage area.