City council approved the property tax rates for 2020 on Monday.
The tax rates the work done by the city's finance and audit committee and the revised budget with the 1.75 per cent tax increase city council approved on April 30, city director of finance Kris Dalio said.
"This bylaw represents the cumulation of all those processes," Dalio said. "It needs to be passed before May 15, that is the legislated deadline."
Despite the pressing deadline, councillor Brian Skakun and Kyle Sampson voted against the adoption of the tax rate bylaw.
"My position hasn't changed. The... 1.75 per cent for residential, I think we could have moved a little lower," Skakun said.
Sampson maintained his position from the April 30 meeting of council, saying council could have reduced the tax increase further.
"I would have liked to see it below one (per cent)," he said.
The bylaw passed 7-2, with the remainder of council supporting the bylaw.
"We didn't have total agreement on all pieces, but we go through an extremely complex process, and we got it done on time," Coun. Garth Frizzell said.
Frizzell, who chairs the city's finance and audit committee, thanked Dalio for his work to find way to reduce the tax increase without further impacts to the city's operations.
"This would not be the time to stop," he said.
Despite a 1.75 increase to the overall tax requisition, mill rates – the amount of taxes collected per $1,000 of assessed value – dropped across all property classes, compared to 2019. The declining mill rates reflect higher property values in the city. In January, BC Assessment reported the value of an average single-family home in the city increased five per cent between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2019, from $296,000 to $310,000.
The tax rate bylaw sets the local mill rate and includes the general municipal tax, snow control reserve tax, road rehabilitation reserve tax, general infrastructure reinvestment reserve tax, Regional District of Fraser-Fort George general tax, regional district 911 service tax and Fraser-Fort George Regional Hospital District tax. The rates set out in the bylaw aren't the final number property owners will see on their tax bill, the provincial government sets the rates for the provincial school tax, BC Assessment tax and Municipal Finance Authority tax.
For homeowners, the local residential mill rate for 2020 is 8.20262, down from 8.39902 in 2019.
For a typical home worth $310,000, the local property taxes would equal $2,542.81, minus the B.C. Home Owner grant if applicable.
The tax rates for the three provincial property taxes have not been released yet, but in 2019 they added an additional 2.4223 to the mill rate, bringing the total 2019 residential property tax rate in the City of Prince George to 10.82132.
If the three provincial property taxes were to remain the same as in 2019, they would add an additional $750.91 in property taxes to an average home worth $310,000 – bringing the total for 2020 to $3,293.72, minus the BC Home Owner Grant, if applicable.
Tax bills will be mailed to property owners, and the deadline to pay is July 3, except for business and industrial property owners. The provincial government announced they will have until Oct. 1 to pay, before facing any late penalties.
Homeowners who pay their property taxes after July 3 will face a five per cent late penalty, with another five per cent added after Oct. 1.
MILL RATES BY CLASS
Here are the City of Prince George 2020 property tax mill rates, including all taxes collected by the city and Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, and excluding the provincial school tax, BC Assessment tax and Municipal Finance Authority tax. The 2019 rates appear in brackets:
• Residential*: 8.20262 (8.39902)
• Utility: 45.00401 (46.63537)
• Major industry: 54.8488 (56.91902)
• Light industry: 30.21642 (31.21230)
• Business/other: 19.16055 (19.76420)
• Managed forest land: 10.41013 (10.51341)
• Farm: 6.42450 (6.61038)
* Supportive housing, recreational property and non-profits pay the same local taxes as residential properties.
