CANSO — An estimated 80 area residents crowded into the Canso Fire Hall last week for a public open house to share their views and provide feedback on a long-standing area tax they say is roughly three times higher than what residents pay elsewhere in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG).
The 1 to 3 p.m. session in Canso on Feb 4, and a second one later that day at the Chedabucto Lifestyle Centre in Guysborough, were hosted by KPMG, which was hired by the MODG in October to help address a long-running dispute between residents of the former Town of Canso – represented by the Eastern Guysborough County Ratepayers Association – and the municipality.
At issue is whether an additional area rate applied to properties in the former town – on top of the municipality’s general tax rates – is fair when compared with taxes paid in other similarly serviced communities, a dispute that dates back to Canso’s 2012 amalgamation with the MODG.
Residential and resource properties in the former Town of Canso are charged an additional area rate of $1.5145 per $100 of assessment, while commercial properties are charged $1.3470 per $100. Those rates are in addition to the municipality’s general tax rates of $0.77 per $100 for residential and resource properties and $2.74 per $100 for commercial properties.
Councillor Susan Cashin (District 6), who attended the Canso open house, said residents repeatedly raised questions about the equity of the area rate, the services they receive for what they pay, and whether there was ever meant to be a timeline or end point for the additional tax after the town’s dissolution.
“People … spoke up to say, well, ‘this is my tax bill … and these are the services I have, and these are the services I don’t have,’” Cashin told The Journal.
Canso and Area Ratepayers Association board member Carol Richard, who also attended, said residents questioned why Canso continues to be taxed differently from other parts of the municipality and pressed for clarity about what would happen if the review does not go their way.
“I asked them if there was any recourse if a decision came down that wasn’t in our favour. But I didn’t get an answer to that,” Richard said. “I would say they were … there to listen to our concerns.”
KPMG’s open houses were required under the municipality’s request for proposals (RFP) for a Canso taxation review study. The RFP states the consultants were required “to conduct two open houses to gather feedback from residents in serviced areas, Canso and Guysborough, on tax burden, assessments, services, etc.,” and that the open houses “should have relevant and accurate data displayed based on current data to generate discussions and feedback.”
Beyond the public sessions, the RFP requires the consultants to conduct an in-depth review of tax rates, assessments and overall tax burden in Canso, including a review of past studies and reports, municipal budgets, relevant legislation, Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board decisions, municipal bylaws and policies, and past presentations and correspondence.
The scope of the work also includes comparisons of services and service levels between specified communities, a review of market and capped assessed values, and an examination of municipal tax bills, including itemization and utility billing such as sewer charges.
While the RFP defines the open houses primarily as forums to gather feedback and generate discussion, several attendees said they had hoped – and in some cases expected – the consultants would also be able to respond to questions after years of public debate over the issue.
Bill Bond, president of the county ratepayers association, said his group met with the consultants for about an hour on Feb. 4 and raised a series of legal and policy questions tied to the area rate, including whether provincial law limits transitional or compensating taxes after amalgamation and whether the municipality could face refund liability.
“They just stood up, more or less, and listened … they didn’t have anything to say,” Bond said. “People were wondering what they have been doing since they were appointed … what were they doing in that time?”
Cashin said many residents were similarly surprised to be asked to restate concerns and background they believe have already been raised publicly for years. “I think people were kind of shocked and thought, well, this information is already put forward,” she said. “They figured they had already been heard many, many times about what they think the issue is.”
She said residents were also looking for clearer information about whether the additional area rate was ever meant to have an end date. “A few people thought it was maybe five years,” Cashin said. “They just wanted to know if there was a time frame.”
The consultants’ final report with findings and recommendations is expected to be presented to MODG council on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
