PAGE TWO

MPAC in credibility crisis

March 28, 2006

Queens Park – The Omsbudsman's 94 page report referred to "cloak and dagger behaviour" and "cutthroat manoeuvering" as part of the terminology used to describe the practices of the nonprofit company - M.P.A.C. who determines our community's property assessments.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is experiencing a crisis of credibility and must take real and concrete steps to improve public confidence in the assessment system, Ombudsman André Marin said at a press conference announcing the release of his report on the investigation into the
transparency of the property assessment process and the integrity and efficiency of
decision-making at MPAC.

“While I would like to acknowledge the willingness on the part of MPAC to cooperate with our investigation and the proactive steps it has committed to improving its process since this investigation began, the credibility of MPAC’s evaluation process simply cannot be restored without altering how it operates on a day-to-day basis and changing key aspects of its corporate culture,” the Ombudsman said.

Following a five-month investigation, Mr. Marin presented 22 recommendations in his final report titled, “Getting it Right.” The Ministry of Finance and MPAC pledged to implement 18 of the recommendations immediately and to consider implementation of the remaining four after further study. MPAC has agreed to report back to the Ombudsman within six months time on its progress in implementing the report’s recommendations.

The Ombudsman recommended increasing taxpayer access to MPAC’s information,
improving the accuracy and consistency of property assessments and improving the
fairness and integrity of the appeal process by requiring MPAC to recognize and carry
forward assessment reductions after appeal unless there are legitimate reasons why the assessment is no longer valid. Finally, the Ombudsman recommended removing the onus from the taxpayer and shifting the burden to MPAC to justify the accuracy of its assessments if the property owner challenges the assessment before the Assessment Review Board.

continues next column ...

“The current situation of putting the onus on the property owner is anachronistic, unfair and just doesn’t make sense. Fixing the problem and laying the onus on the state’s assessor will level the playing field and recognize that MPAC is filling a public service role in carrying out property assessments for taxation purposes,” Mr. Marin noted. “It will also place the onus on MPAC to ensure that its assessments are accurate and defendable.”

Mr. Marin explained that he undertook the investigation of MPAC because of the
overwhelming volume of complaints his office received from frustrated taxpayers.
“Never in the 30-year history of this Office have so many complaints been received in so short a period about a single public agency,” he said. “Our Office was inundated with protests from disaffected citizens – more than 3,700 of them.”

Complaints were received from individual homeowners across the province, as well as from current and former Assessment Review Board and MPAC employees, interest groups and organizations including the Canadian Association for the Fifty Plus (CARP) and the Canadian Advocates for Tax Awareness (CAFTA). Over 104 local, regional and provincial representatives from 83 municipalities, including several mayors and Members
of the Provincial Parliament complained or provided submissions during the investigation.

Based on the investigation’s findings, the Ombudsman said that MPAC had failed to
ensure property owners were provided with sufficient and timely assessment information to help them understand and challenge their property assessments fairly. He also found that MPAC had undermined the integrity of the Assessment Review Board process through failing to recognize its decisions and to carry them forward to future years’ assessments.

The province extended the appeal application process for property assessments from March 31, to June 30.

Halton Hills Ratepayers Meeting:

To discuss the Reports impact in Halton Hills - April 13, 2006 at the Acton Legion at 7:30 p.m.

Read the Ombudsman's 94 page report...

Town Hall comments ...

Readers may contact the editor at;

Email: editor@thehaltonherald.ca

Mail: The Halton Herald.ca, P.O. Box 76, Acton, ON. L7J 2M2.

Help/FAQ Privacy Policy