Report to: General
Committee Date
of Meeting: January 12, 2009
SUBJECT: E3 Initiative – Increased
User Fees (Tax Related)
PREPARED BY: Paul Wealleans, Director, Taxation
RECOMMENDATIONS:
THAT the report
“E3 Initiative – Increased User Fees” be received;
AND THAT effective
for the 2009 tax year, Council approve an increase in the administrative fee
for new tax accounts from $50 to $60;
AND THAT effective
March 1, 2009,
Council approve the implementation of an “expedited” tax certificate fee in the
amount of $65;
AND THAT By-law
2002-276, a by-law to impose fees and charges for services or activities
provided or done by the Town of Markham,
be amended to reflect the new fees;
AND THAT notice to
the public be provided in accordance with By-law 2002-275, a by-law to
prescribe the form and manner and times for the provision of reasonable notice;
AND THAT staff be
authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this
resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Not applicable.
Municipal user fees are described as a
charge to the user for a specific municipal service, activity or product, or
for the use of municipal property. Part
XII of the Municipal Act, 2001, provides
the authority for implementation of municipal user fees and charges and
requires that the user fees be approved by Council and enacted by by-law. Fees and charges are intended to recover
costs associated with the delivery of services or activities on behalf of the
municipality.
On December 10, 2002, the Town of Markham passed By-Law 2002-276, as amended,
entitled “To Impose Fees or Charges for Services or Activities provided or done
by The Town of Markham.” Council has
since amended that bylaw twice, in December 2006 and June 2008 to establish
various fees specific to the administration of property tax. The new fees
discussed in this report will also require that the By-law be amended.
In establishing user fees for specific
municipal services, activities or products, the municipality recognizes the
need to recover operating costs associated with the requirement of that
service. By passing the cost of certain
services to the consumer, only those individuals or groups that utilize the
service pay for the cost of providing it, rather than taxpayers in general.
Expedited Tax Certificate Fee
The current fee for a Tax Certificate is
$50 which is in line with what most other municipalities charge. Generally,
these are requested and completed by mail. However, there are instances where a
tax certificate is urgently required and staff completes these requests as best
as possible. It means that staff must immediately research and compete the
document while setting aside other work currently being worked on. Mississauga charges a
premium of $75 for these rush requests. In line with the time and costs
associated with these urgent requests, it is recommended that an “expedited”
tax certificate fee of $65 be charged. It is estimated that there could be 135 such
requests annually which would generate approximately $2000.
New Tax Account Fee
The current new tax account fee is $50.
Other municipalities that levy a charge for new accounts range between $50 to
$60.
The approval of
this new fee and increased fee would ensure that the Town continues to adopt a
“best practices” approach to financial management as well as generating revenue
related to cost recovery for municipal services.
It is recommended
that the new tax account fees take affect for the 2009 tax year. New account
fees are different from other tax related fees in that it is the Town that
initiates the charge. As a result, it is recommended that the increased fee
apply to the 2009 tax year and the Town will charge new property owners
following its approval by Council.
However, the
effective date of March 1,
2009 for the “expedited” tax certificate fee will allow sufficient
time for a communication plan to customers, especially the legal profession, to
be made aware of the change.
Notice of these
new fees will be provided on the Town’s website and on the Town page of the
local Markham
newspapers.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Estimated volumes
would generate increased revenue (the new “expedited” tax certificate fee would
generate $2,000 annually and the increased new tax account fee approximately $24,000).
The 2009 budget has been adjusted to reflect these projected increased revenues.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None
ACCESSIBILTY CONSIDERATIONS:
None
ENGAGE 21st CONSIDERATIONS:
None
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
None
RECOMMENDED
BY: ________________________ ________________________
Barb Cribbett, Treasurer Andy
Taylor, Commissioner
Corporate
Services