THE WEST HARBOUR RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

REPORT ON CURRENT VALUE ASSESSMENT (CVA) – JANUARY 2003

Dear Members:

You have received your C.V.A. from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) valuing your property as of June 30, 2001. This new value will be used as the basis for calculation of your municipal taxes in 2003.

The CVA is arrived at through an arbitrary formula comparing your house and property (frontage, lot size, location, age, construction features, etc.) against the selling price of other local and similar properties as at June 30, 2001.

Some of our members may be surprised by the significant increase in their CVA from the previous valuation in June 1999. The tax rate is set by our Municipality’s, the Region’s, and the Halton School Board’s requirement for revenue for the year 2003, by striking the mill rate and then applying it against your CVA. Before you mount an appeal you must ask yourself: “Does the assessed value reasonably represent the amount you might have expected your property to sell for at June 30, 2001? If the answer is yes, then you are not likely going to have much luck with a “Request for Reconsideration”, nor a formal appeal with the Assessment Review Board (ARB)

We do recommend that if you disagree with the CVA and feel that it is excessive, the following steps should be taken:

• Phone 1-866-296-6722 or Fax 1-866-297-6703 or e-mail www.mpac.ca

• Identify your property by its roll number shown on the Property Assessment Notice.

• Determine what factors MPAC used in the calculation of your CVA – do you agree with them?

• What detailed information does MPAC have on file pertaining to your property?

• What comparisons did MPAC use of local and similar properties in arriving at your CVA?

• Why has your assessment increased X % when the Town of Oakville’s overall residential average is up approximately 12.7% (source Town of Oakville Tax Department)?

• Are there any negative influences which you feel impact the value of your property, and is the MPAC aware of these , such as:

• Commercial Enterprises
• Water Filtration Plant on Kerr
• The office at 84 Chisholm
• Drapery Plant at 49 Chisholm
• Boat Yard at 5 Walker and along Forsythe
• School Traffic
• Proximity to a commercial parking lot
• Lakeshore Road, Forsythe, Brant, Brock, Rebecca, etc.
• Pedestrian right of way
• To all parks

If you intend to appeal your CVA you should start the process immediately, as there is likely going to be a fair degree of bureaucracy that will slow the process.

Your Directors have discussed the potential of a group appeal, and have concluded that we have neither the expertise nor the financial strength to appeal this as a group. While our CVA has risen dramatically, each property is unique and should be dealt with on that basis. One of our members has done a significant amount of research of properties on Chisholm, Walker, Anderson, Wilson, and Burnet Streets (67 properties). He has found increases in CVA from a low of 23% to a high over 100%, with an average of 45.9%. Compare this to the Town of Oakville average of 12.7%.

YOU CAN BE SUCCESSFUL – we are aware of an example where one of our members appealed an assessment of his lakeside recreational property. The initial CVA showed a whopping 53% increase. Two phone calls resulted in a revised assessment of a net 23% increase, because the property abutted a hotel and golf course (i.e. commercial property), and much more in line with the regional average of 23%.

It is likely that no one has actually visited West Harbour to determine the justification for the increases in our residential area – we recommend that you bring any concerns to their attention.

We hope the above has helped.

Deadlines:

Assessment Review Board – March 31, 2003

Request for Reconsideration – December 31, 2003

Your WEST HARBOUR RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE