Northern Ont. community shocked by plan to hike taxes by 40%

Residents in Black River-Matheson, east of Timmins, are concerned after learning about plans to raise property taxes by 40.5 per cent.

Municipal officials said the town has been subsidizing the tax rate and is now running out of money for infrastructure and maintenance.

But residents worry such a large tax hike will push businesses and homeowners out.

"When I seen 40 per cent, I almost fell off my chair. I mean, that’s just not something you see," one resident told CTV News.

"My first thought was we’ll never survive here. We’ll have to sell."

Landlord Pauline Francis said she just had to stop renting her units temporarily after a recent water rate hike.

"I had to increase my rent in order to start up again," Francis said. 

"Now, do I have to do the same thing again at 40 per cent? I will never be able to recoup that."

Construction company owner Dan Charbonneau said he was planning to buy a new storefront.

"Just the property taxes alone are making us second-guess buying the actual building," Charbonneau said.

"I’m going to reflect that cost to my customers … and 40 per cent, my rates would have to increase a lot."

The problem, said Chris Wray, the town’s chief administrator, is the town had been under-taxing the community for years, drawing money from its reserves to keep things running with a balanced budget.

Wray said the town has major infrastructure issues that have been neglected and it will only have around $1.2 million in backup funds by the end of the year.

• Download the CTV News app now and get local alerts on your device
• Get local breaking news and updates sent to your email inbox

"This is the time to turn a corner for us, before this gets too out of control," he said.

"Because, frankly, if it’s 40 per cent this year and we do nothing or we do a small increase, like say four or five per cent, it’s going to be 50 per cent next year."

Wray said people are overreacting and that people won’t actually be paying an extra 40 per cent in property taxes because a nearby natural gas pipeline project will foot much of the bill.

"Then we’re dealing with a levy increase — and it’s still high — of, you know, probably somewhere in the area of 23 or 24 per cent, for everybody else," he said.

Wray said he’ll explain the situation at the town’s budget meeting on Thursday, but it can only be attended online or by phone.

Some residents said the town is lacking in transparency and communication.

"They don’t even tell us what they’re going to do until they actually do it and then it’s too late," said Francis.

"So, they need to start listening to their taxpayers."

UPDATE

Thursday evening, Mayor Doug Bender told CTV News that council passed its capital and operating budgets with a 34.5 per cent tax increase, instead of 40.

Bender reiterated that local pipelines, industry and commercial properties will pay for much of that, and that anyone with concerns can contact the town hall or himself directly.

Bender also said the town’s been calling for more provincial support.