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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday November 17, 2007 - 5 MPAC's assessment backlog means tax loss for Region By Melanie Hennessey SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER While the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is working to catch up on its backlog of assessment information for Halton, the Region's property tax revenues for 2007 could still fall short by over $1 million. The fact was presented during the Region's administration and finance committee meeting Wednesday, along with a staff report that explained the issue. MPAC is responsible for assessing properties' current values. The information is then given to municipalities on an assessment roll, which is used to bill and collect property taxes for the following year. But the implementation of a new software system at MPAC has resulted in a backlog in getting Halton's new growth on the assessment roll, meaning taxes can't be collected to the full extent they should be. So while Halton had expected to collect $8.3 million in new property taxes this year, staff is now projecting that number will fall short by $1.3 million. Halton Commissioner of Corporate Services and Treasurer Jane MacCaskill said there will be savings in other areas of the budget that can cover the shortfall, so taxes won't be going up. MPAC issues were recently discussed at Milton council, which passed a motion calling on the Region to withhold its final 2007 payment to MPAC of $1.6 million, pending confirmation that additional resources are directed toward updating the town's assessment growth. But since MPAC has made progress over the past few weeks to ensure priority assessments are processed for local municipalities, the motion wasn't pursued any further. MPAC president and CAO Carl Isenburg was in attendance at Wednesday's committee meeting, and Milton Mayor Gord Krantz told him he's pleased with the way MPAC has reacted to his municipality's concerns. But Halton Hills Councillor Jane Fogal has some less favourable words for the president, since letters sent to MPAC from Halton Hills went unanswered. "Non response is unacceptable, in my mind," she said, noting she had hoped MPAC came to the committee to apologize for its recent actions. Isenburg pointed out that MPAC did have discussions with Halton Hills staff and said he's sorry to hear they weren't fulsome enough. "Any opportunity we have to work closely with municipalities, we do," he said. Fogal thanked Krantz and Milton staff for getting on the MPAC problems and drawing attention to them. Oakville Councillor Keith Bird asked Isenburg if there's "a light at the end of the tunnel" when it comes to getting caught up on appeals residents make regarding their assessments. Isenburg explained it's MPAC's commitment to try to solve residential appeals within the tax year they're received. He also said that he hasn't received complaints from taxpayers lately on the issue. 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