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Page 4 The Clarington/Courlicc Independent, Bowmanvillc, Saturday, February 2S, 1998 ^Changes Necessary to Property Assessment • You have each received ytuir new properly assessment assessment notice. I have had a number of calls on the new assessment system. It is important to explain why this change was necessary. For many years, municipalities and provincial organizations like (AMO), the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, (ROMA) the Rural Ontario Municipal Association and others have demanded that the Ontario government fix our outdated assessment system. system. In short, with over 800 municipalities many with different different assessment base years, many property owners were not paying their fair share. In Durham, we have some municipalities that have not been reassessed since the 1940's with other municipalities municipalities having gone through reassessment in the 1990's.Thc reason some muncipalitics have avoided reassessment is because it is controversial. Our government government passed three pieces of legislation to make this happen, happen, Bill 106 and Bill 149, the Fair Municipal Finance Acts, as well as Bill 160, the Education Quality Improvement Act.. The amendments to the Education Act allowed these changes to take place. Keep in mind that reassessment alone should not result in increased revenue revenue for a municipality. If nothing changed in a municipality, municipality, (no new buildings or demolished property) the reassessment would simply shift the apportionment. In the same municipality, two identical residential properties properties should pay the same taxes. The new Ontario Fair Assessment system will: - reassess all properties in Ontario (based on value June 30, 1996) - ensure all property values values remain current and updated updated - allow an (8 year) phase- in period of tax change - guarantee tax relief for low-income seniors and disabled disabled homeowners - simplify the assessment appeal process - give municipalities important new powers to address their revenue needs in a way that best fits local budget budget priorities If you believe that your assessment notice is too high, (you think your property is worth less), you must call the assessment office (905) 432- 8444 or 1 -800-208-2224. Any appeal! must.be, registered by. Report from Queen's Park by John O'Toole June 1998. Naturally, if you think your property assessment assessment is too low, you will probably call and have it reassessed. reassessed. In your new assessment notice, there is information on public meetings to be held throughout Durham. Clarington on March 23 to 25lh at G.B. Rickard Complex; Scugog on March 12 and 13th at Scugog Municipal Building; Oshawa on March 17 to 21st at Oshawa Public Library; Whitby on March 10 to 13th at Heydcnshorc Pavilion. The most commonly asked question is "does reassessment mean that my taxes will to up"? The short answer is, not necessarily. If a municipal tax base expands due to growth of industrial, commercial or residential building, they will generate more revenue and could conceivably conceivably lower taxes. If a municipality increases their budget, due to new services like a library or senior centre, their budget expenditures will increase and your contributions contributions will increase. The second most commonly commonly asked question is "how do I calculate my total tax bill"? For a residential property, property, there arc three main components that determine your total taxes - education, local and regional taxes: A) Education: the province has set the educational educational tax rate at .46% B) Local municipal tax rates will be set by the municipality municipality when they have set their budget. C) Regional tax rates will also be set when they set their budget. It is important to note that we have simplified the tax process by replacing the old Mill Rate with a Tax Rate. Furthermore, the province will now set the educational tax rate while municipalities will have the flexibility to set the tax rates on the seven property classes: residential, multi-residential (apartments), (apartments), commercial, industrial, industrial, farmlands, managed forests, and pipelines. There are other changes to Business Occupancy Tax (BOT) and Business .Improvement Areas • ■ : ' :l " 'J j.fi- ." I ■■■ DARLINGTON SPORTS CENTRE 1908 PUBLIC SKATING ....1:00 - 2:30 p.m. .... 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. .... 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. ....1:00 - 2:30 p.m. ..9:00- 10:30 a.m. 10:00- 11:30 a.m. .... 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. .... 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, 1998 Saturday, Mar. 7, 1998 Saturday, Mar. 14, 1998 Monday, Mar. 16, 1998 Wednesday, Mar. 18, 1998... Friday, Mar. 20, 1998 Saturday, Mar. 21, 1998 Saturday, Mar. 28, 1998 FREE SKATING Mondays 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. March 2, 9, 23 Wednesdays 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Feb. 25 March 4, 11,25 Fridays 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Feb. 27 March 6, 27 NO PUBLIC SKATES ON PA DAYS CS-IND. 6776 RICKARD RECREATION COMPLEX 1998 PUBLIC SKATING Sunday, Mar. 1, 1998 1:00 - 2:30 p.m, Sunday, Mar. 8, 1998 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Mar. 15, 1998 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Mar. 22, 1998 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 5, 1998 1:00-2:00 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 19, 1998 1:00-2:30 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 26, 1998 1:00 ■ 2:30 p.m. SENIOR SKATES Wednesdays 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Feb. 25 March 4, 11,25; April 1, 8, 15, 22 FREE SKATING Tuesdays 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. March 3, 10, 24, 31 April 7, 14, 21 SPECIAL PUBLIC SKATING Tuesday, March 17, 1998 1:00 • 2:30 p.m. NO PUBLIC SKATES ON PA DAYS CS-IND, G775 tSJ.P, (BIA's). Gross lease landlords should call my office for details. In the future, assessment will be updated using a three year rolling average. Keep in mind that this change was necessary to ensure fairness across municipalities and indeed across the province. How do you calculate your taxes? (a typical example): example): On a residential property valued at $125,000.00 In the old system, your tax bill was roughly 61% for education, education, 20% municipal and 19% regional taxes. If your total taxes were: $2,400.00 under the old system, you paid: 61% education or ($1,464.00), 20% municipal or ($480.00) plus regional 19% or ($456.00). Under the new system, your taxes will be calculated as follows: A) education .46 x $125,000.00 =$575.00. B) municipal (? tax rate) x $125,000.00 = $? C) regional (? tax rate) x $125,000.00 = $? The municipal and regional regional tax rates will be set once they determine their budget." I fully expect the educational portion of your tax bill to go down and this is as a result of Bill 160, where the province will now set the tax rate and fund education equitably across the province. To be fair, there arc many changes in responsibility between the province and the municipalities. municipalities. As I have explained in previous articles, with the "Who Docs What" activity and the swap in responsibilities responsibilities between the province funding more of education and municipalities paying a greater share of municipal services (less grants), these shifts will make the entire system more accountable and arc long over due. The only certainties in life arc death and taxes. I hope municipalities will continue to control their spending. If you have any questions, please call the assessment office at the numbers above or our constituency office at: (905) 697-1501 or 1-800- 661-2433. Speaking Out John Douglas was the facilitator at the Ontario Speaks Forum sponsored by Durham East MPP John O'Toole on Wednesday night, Feb. 18. Thirty residents from across the riding took part in the event, including several from the Clarington area. All comments received will be transcribed and sent to the Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs. Unilateral Declaration of Independence Sitting at the back of the courtroom, I watched as the legal framework of how we became a nation unfolded before the nine Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada. Last week the Supreme Court heard the questions posed to them by the Federal Government concerning the legality of a unilateral declaration declaration of independence by Quebec. Remember, a unilateral declaration of independence was part of Parizcau's game plan if the Parti Québécois had won the last referendum. And despite the musings of Mr. Bouchard the case the Federal Government brought before the Supreme Court is not about denying the people (that's all of the people) in Quebec the right to decide their future. What it's about is the legal framework as to how this right could be expressed. Bouchard, and his band of separatists, are shocking in their proclamations and totalitarian totalitarian in their aims. To simply simply suspend the constitution of a country would mean suspending suspending the rule of law. It would also mean a Parliamentary Report by Alex Shepherd denial of the courts, along with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, not only for people in Quebec but for people people in all of Canada. These arc not small issues for small-minded politicians to be cast away at will, but rather, the protection of rights built up within a legal framework framework over centuries. To deny the rule of law, that is a process by which we determine how we treat each other, is like hurling society into a state of anarchy. It is clear to me that the position of the government of Quebec is a march toward revolution. Then, what other laws can be suspended at the will of politicians? How about the pesky idea of elections elections for one? And what about the threshold 50-per-ccnl-plus- onc to decide who wins the referendum. There is no such low-minimum requirement in any country including this one. An amendment to the general general terms of the constitution requires seven provinces encompassing at least 50 per cent of the population. Other democratic countries arc no different. Andy why is it so difficult to change a constitution? Very simply you don't change fundamental fundamental laws by measuring the public mood on one day with a 50-plus-one threshold. What will the 50 per cent be measuring next week? History has recorded on numerous occasions the conduct conduct of mob rule. And that is where Mr. Bouchard is headed. headed. How pitiful it is to hear that Mike Harris says the Supreme Court reference is not an important process. Why can't he grasp the concept? concept? I took the lime to discuss ' these issues with Guy Bertrand, the lawyer from Quebec who so eloquently - defended his rights as a Quebecer, and those of a ' group of Montrealers and Western Quebecers, who sees his future as part of Canada. I must say discussing these matters with him on the floor of the Supreme Court of Canada made me feel like 1 was very much a part of a historical historical drama that is still unfolding. And 1 found myself asking why Quebecers, both sepa-. ratist and federalist, arc prepared prepared to let this unfold without without a rule book? Maybe it's because they have never experienced the other side of revolution. It's one thing to talk about being victims of history. France saw thousands killed during their revolution and the U.S. saw 650,000. Why? Because some southern slates simply wanted to dismiss the rule of law and due process. F SPRING BREAK S. ON CHEVROLET CAVALIER, OLOSHOBILE INTRIGUE, AND CHEVY VENTURE 2.2 litre engine, 5-speed manual transmis- i 3800 Series II V6 engine, automatic trans- sion, 4-wheel ABS, dual front air bags, body j mission, 4-wheel ABS, dual front air bags, side mouldings , power windows/mirrors/door locks, AM/FM i stereo with cassette, air conditioning [ 3400 V6 engine, automatic transmission , with overdrive, 4-wheel ABS, dual front i and side air bags, air conditioning, | programmable power doer locks : : : (3» montta/11,180 dûwn| , (36 months/52,070 down) {36 mofttha/11,930 down) 2.4 litre TWin Cam engine, automatic transmission, 4-wheel ABS) dual front air bags, AM/FM stereo with cassette, air conditioning UP TO 48 MONTHS. 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