'Salt in the wound': Riversdale business owners learn there is a long road ahead to try and reduce steep tax bills
Appeals for a tax freeze or property reassessments came from frustrated Riversdale business owners during a public meeting at the Roxy Theatre Tuesday morning where the City explained the raises and talked about the next steps.
The meeting comes after some property owners were hit with steep tax increases that some feel could put their businesses underwater.
Mayor Charlie Clark as well as city councillor David Kirton were personally at the meeting and city assessor Bryce Trew and several other councillors joined by Zoom.
Members of the Riversdale Business Improvement District (RBID), as well as business owners in the area, were hoping to gain more understanding about what can be done about the tax hikes.
Trew opened up the meeting with a presentation on this year’s assessments, explaining more about the steps taken by the city when reassessing property value.
UNPRECEDENTED TIMES
An explanation wasn’t what some business owners were after however, as some like Carmen Hamm, owner of Cohen’s Beer Republic and Picaro Cocktails and Tacos, wanted to know what can be done at this point.
“Our business was forced to close completely and we’ve had our business operations restricted since last March. As we have heard these are unprecedented times,” Hamm said.
“We’re wondering if there is any opportunity in these unprecedented times to see unprecedented action with reopening the opportunity for assessment.”
The pandemic was a theme at the meeting, with many business owners speaking about how they are just starting to rebound as the steep tax bills arrived..
“I really, really struggle looking at a 58 per cent tax increase, especially when it is only being phased in over two years.” Curtis Olson of Shift Development said during the meeting.
“These are compounding increases that I guarantee will result in me losing tenants, will result in businesses closing because these are very challenging times, coming off a year of a pandemic. I look at these tax increases as salt in the wound and a nail in the coffin.”
IN PROVINCE'S HANDS
The city explained that the appeal process has closed as of March 29th, and any steps taken to reopen the reassessment process would require action from the provincial government.
“The dates of when the (tax) roll is open and how many days it needs to be open for a year, so on a revaluation year it’s legislated that the roll needs to be open for 60 days, on a non-revaluation year the roll is only open for 30 days,” Trew said.
“That is all in legislation, so any changes to legislation would need to go through government relations.”
'I WANT TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO': MAYOR
Several speakers at the meeting became emotional when presenting, or talking with people after the meeting, with many worrying about their future in Riversdale or the survival of their business.
Mayor Clark closed out the meeting with some words to the audience, talking about how he will see what the city can do to address the situation, but he couldn’t make any promises as there won't be a finance committee meeting until August.
“I think sending a letter to council as a whole that ends up getting in the queue is a first step,” Clark said.
“I don’t want to create false expectations here, I want to see what we can do. This has been really hard, the sort of compounding effects of COVID hitting certain sectors,” Clark said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.