Councillor Myers on tax relief

Near the conclusion of Monday's City Council 2013 budget deliberations meeting, Ward Two City Councillor Susan Myers forwarded a resolution, passed by Council, which directs City staff to explore ways to ease future tax increases faced by property owners who are seniors or who have disabilities, or who are employed but having difficulty making ends meet.

After a marathon meeting, Council voted 9-4 in a recorded vote, to set a residential property tax increase of $59, or 2.32 percent.

Myers said to Council Monday "I am very mindful of the growing costs for a senior to remain in their home, and (referring to Sault Ste. Marie's current low apartment vacancy rate) there are not sufficient housing alternatives for anyone to reduce their costs and live elsewhere, even if they wanted to.  As a municipality, we want our residents to be able to remain in their own home as long as they are physically able to do so."

"With that in mind, I am bringing forward a resolution tonight, asking our staff to look at the example of the City of Oshawa around tax granting and tax deferral for seniors.  In the Oshawa model, this has been created for low income seniors and persons with a disability.  In Sault Ste. Marie, we have a shifting demographic that includes increasing numbers of senior residential property owners but also includes what is often labeled "the working poor".  I would like Council to investigate what options we might have to look at residential tax deferrals for all who find it a hardship to remain in their homes."

"Further, I am going to ask staff to revisit a bylaw that was repealed in 1996 that previously had given seniors in Sault Ste. Marie a Tax Credit. To qualify, the owner or spouse had to be 65 years of age, own and occupy the residence for not less than 5 years and their annual tax levy had to exceed $600. This bylaw was repealed in 1996 and I would like to know why and see if this can be reinstated."

Speaking to SooToday.com, Myers said "We do have a senior tax deferral program on our City of Sault Ste. Marie website, but the sidebar is that I'd like this information far more prominent, because I'm not sure how many people are aware we even have it."  

"I'd like to to see the reinstatement of a senior tax credit we used to give that was repealed by a by-law in 1996.  I wasn't aware of that, as I didn't come on to Council until 2006."

Myers told us "I don't like the label 'working poor,' but they are faced with challenges when it comes to the cost of living and all we can control is the tax levy.  People are facing costs of living at the gas tanks with their vehicles, when they go to buy a pound of butter at the store, all kinds of things.  We can't control those, but we can do something to ease the burden."

"We want our citizens to stay in their homes.  Home ownership is a good, strong fabric of the community that is critically important, and we don't have a lot of alternative housing options for people on the senior side or on the lower income side.  We've got half of one percent vacancy rate, so where can people go if they can't afford to own a home?  Perhaps some are being forced into home ownership and yet are having a struggle."

"I want to see tax deferral for anyone who needs it.  I'll be very interested to see what comes back in this report."

Myers told us she feels the City's website doesn't provide a lot of detail to a tax deferral option.  

"From my perspective it doesn't go nearly far enough for what I'd like to see.  Oshawa offers a tax grant for $400 going forward in 2013 and that is their Council's decision how to set that grant."

Myers said she likes the concept of tax deferral because, even though the City would not receive its tax money straight away, it would ease the ratepayer's burden in the short term.

"Perhaps there has been one of the spouses in the household who is unemployed right now and they expect to be re-employed a year from now, and this tax deferral would help them keep their home, and that's critical.  It's not just about the seniors or people with a disability, it's about the working poor and the unemployed who are seeking employment."

Residents would then be expected to budget for repayment after coming out of "deferral" status.

"I want to make sure people have every opportunity to keep their home.  It's important for a person's mental well-being, pride of ownership, and it makes for a healthier community.  There is grief when people lose their homes."

Myers said Council's preliminary budget meeting in March, in which City CAO Joe Fratesi stated there would be a City surplus to be factored into the budget, first prompted her into thinking of ways to introduce such mechanisms as tax deferral for those ratepayers who need it.

"When we get a tax refund we like it.  I thought, if we have a surplus, is there some way we could return some of the tax to those who paid it all year?"

That, Myers told us, lead her to do some online research where she discovered Oshawa's model.

The City of Oshawa offers tax deferral applications for ratepayers to fill out if they are low income seniors or people with disabilities.  Applicants in that city could receive relief from a portion of the annual property tax rate.  The total amount of deferred tax money would have to be repaid if the person's home was sold, or if a change of ownership took place.  Tax deferral applications are available to low income seniors or people with disabilities if taxes have gone up by more than 5 percent or $100.  

Oshawa also has a property tax grant program for those in need, whereby they may receive a deduction of $400 on their tax bills.  

Myers told us "I don't know the logistics, but I'm looking forward to this report and what help it can recommend."

Myers said she hopes to see a report from City staff in the next few weeks.

Myers says while not everyone who needs tax relief may apply for it , but "often it's good enough for people to know they have a safety net.  The important thing is that Council recognizes we have an issue for some of our folks, and what can we do to help."   

The resolution passed by Council Monday reads as follows:

"Whereas the City of Oshawa has developed a program of Municipal Tax Reductions, Rebates and Refunds for Low Income Seniors and People with a Disability and 

Whereas City Council is interested in obtaining information about any program that can benefit our citizens and

Whereas the City of Sault Ste. Marie did one time provide a Seniors Tax Credit until the bylaw was repealed in 1996,

Therefore be it resolved that the appropriate staff review the Municipal Tax Reductions, Rebates and Refunds program from the City of Oshawa and the Seniors Tax Credit that once existed in Sault Ste.Marie, and report back to City Council with recommendations around each of these matters for the consideration of City Council."