Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley gives a state-of-the-city address to members of Sarnia's Seaway Kiwanis Club. January 7, 2020. Photo by Melanie Irwin Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley gives a state-of-the-city address to members of Sarnia's Seaway Kiwanis Club. January 7, 2020. Photo by Melanie Irwin
Sarnia

Sarnia mayor pleased province delaying property assessment update

Sarnia's mayor says Ontario is doing the right thing by delaying property tax assessments by a year.

The province was set to provide its four-year update in August, but that is now being delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and incredible growth in the real estate market.

Mayor Mike Bradley is pleased the province listened to his request made a couple of weeks ago in a letter to Ontario Housing Minister Steve Clark.

"I'm pleased because it will give people who own homes and businesses a bit of breathing space this year instead of getting hit, in some cases, with very significant tax increases because of the four-year gap going back to 2016 when the last evaluation was done," said Bradley. "This is a huge step. It helps us because we're also delaying property tax payments."

The decision to delay was included in Finance Minister Rod Phillips' most recent economic update.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) said it plans to explore alternate approaches to collect the necessary information to assess new construction activity as social distancing continues.

It said property inspectors will be out in full force once they're allowed to resume work.

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