City council tweaks your property taxes

Back in December, SooToday told you Sault Ste. Marie city council had set its 2024 operating budget levy at $140.8 million.

That overall levy is up 4.84 per cent from 2023.

But that's not the end of the story, so far as tax bills are concerned.

Last week, city councillors made some other important decisions, tweaking how that tax burden should be distributed among tax classes: residential, industrial, commercial, etc.

Acting on advice from Lisa Petrocco, the city's taxation manager, council decided to minimize impact to residential and multi-residential properties while maintaining a decrease in tax ratios for industrial and commercial classes.

Here are the approved increases from last year after growth:

• residential - 4.28 per cent
• new multi-residential - 4.37 per cent
• multi-residential - 4.37 per cent
• commercial occupied - 2.48 per cent
• commercial excess land - 2.41 per cent
• shopping occupied - 2.50 per cent 
• shopping excess land - 0.00 per cent
• office occupied - 2.50 per cent
• office excess land - 0.00 per cent
• parking/vacant land - 2.49 per cent
• industrial occupied - 2.34 per cent
• industrial excess land - 2.31 per cent
• industrial vacant land - 2.48 per cent
• large industrial occupied - 2.50 per cent
• large industrial excess - 2.50 per cent
• landfills - 0.00 per cent
• pipelines - 3.72 per cent
• farm - 3.92 per cent
• managed forests - 3.76 per cent

This means a tax increase of $135 for a typical single-family dwelling, $1,174 for an median apartment building, $247 for a small office building, $160 for a small retail commercial property, and $1,076 for a standard industrial property.

Petrocco says 86.5 per cent of local residential properties will increase $17.67 per month or less for municipal taxes. 

The province also requires municipalities to pass annual bylaws administering limits for the non-residential tax classes.

Intended to protect commercial, industrial and multi-residential properties from big property tax increases, these bylaws cap tax increases at five per cent due to changes in property value.

Council voted to make maximum use of capping tools for commercial classes, same as last year.

"This is the third year of the four-year phase out to permanently exit capping for the commercial class," Petrocco said in a report to council.

"Staff is recommending the maximum use of capping tools be utilized for the industrial classes as well. The industrial class will now enter the first year of the four-year phase out to permanently exit capping.

"These options will provide more properties to retain their decreases, as well as decrease the amount of properties subject to capping," Petrocco said.