Duane Hicks
Fort Frances won’t be withholding payment from the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. (MPAC), but it will continue to work with other communities in the fight to consider a town’s economic status when determining property assessments.
Dryden, Espanola, and Elk Lake, which along with Thunder Bay and other northern municipalities are facing massive tax repayments to paper companies after their respective mills were reassessed and their values lowered, have passed resolutions to withhold payment of MPAC invoices for service until their respective service delivery issues are resolved.
They asked Fort Frances do the same.
Council declined to withhold payment in protest Monday evening, but did pass a resolution affirming that MPAC needs to change the way it does assessment and also vowed to stay on board with its partner municipalities.
“I think that we have to go to senior government ministries to get any changes made,” said Coun. Paul Ryan.
“MPAC works under their mandate that’s given to them by the province,” he explained. “Holding back a payment due to them will not force them into changing what they do.
“The only change that can be made is from above, the ministry that handles them,” Coun. Ryan stressed. “You can claw back the money and really it doesn’t do anything. . . .
“It’s a protest, I guess, but I cannot see any gain from it,” he noted.
“They can take it off your OMPH funding; they can charge you interest or whatever,” he warned.
“MPAC cannot change the way they do business unless the senior people who run the ministry tell them to do so,” Coun. Ryan reiterated.
“Those are the people we have to be in contact with and plead our case with them.”
Coun. Ken Perry noted that MPAC’s annual budget is $190 million. So if three or four municipalities the size of Fort Frances each held back $96,000 a year—the cost of MPAC services—it would “not even be a drop in the bucket.”
Mayor Roy Avis recalled that at the OGRA/ROMA conference in Toronto in February, local delegates were approached by representatives from Elk Lake, Espanola, Thunder Bay, Dryden, and Kenora to oppose the process that MPAC uses when determining assessment.
They met with Municipal Affairs and Housing minister Linda Jeffrey, and “she sympathized with us,” he noted.
Communication has continued between the various northern communities since that time—and more municipalities want to join the fray.
But now there’s frustration among all the municipalities, including Fort Frances, because they have sent letters to Jeffrey and Finance minister Charles Sousa but neither have replied.
“The government, it seems they don’t even want to talk or discuss or do anything regarding this issue, so there’s been a lot of lobbying going on,” said Mayor Avis.
In fact, Mayor Avis will attend a meeting in Toronto next Monday with deputy Finance minister Steve Orsini.
He stressed that he’s keeping in touch with other mayors, who are working together on a plan to put forth.
“I think in the long run it’s going to be beneficial to us because I am sure that we are going to see a future reassessment coming to us,” Mayor Avis remarked.
He clarified that Fort Frances’ situation is somewhat different than the others, in that the town was able to reach a settlement with Resolute Forest Products that saw its property assessment reduced by 25 percent for the subject years 2009-12.
Resolute had been seeking reductions of about 58 percent.
But Coun. Perry noted if Elk Lake or Dryden don’t get some relief, “they’re in dire straits.”
Elk Lake, for example, has 500 people and it is looking at having to pay back Domtar $1.7 million.
Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft noted Elk Lake wrote the province a letter pointing out that if this amount was prorated to the population of Ontario, it would equal a $50 billion payback.
And the reassessment issue is not just hurting mill towns. Coun. Perry said he’s aware that 21 other municipalities want to get on board in the fight against MPAC, including those with mines and casinos.
Council’s resolution passed Monday night outlined multiple issues it has with MPAC, including the fact that MPAC did not provide a Post Roll Assessment Notice (PRAN) to the town that would reflect the reduced assessment of Fort Frances stemming from the successful reassessment of the mill property here.
Because of this, the Rainy River District Social Services Assessment Board (DSSAB) was not able to reduce Fort Frances’ contribution to social service costs in its 2013 budget.
The town had to pay the same share of costs as it did last year—despite its reduction in overall assessment compared to other district municipalities.
The town had requested the PRAN be delivered prior to Feb. 28. It still has not been received.
