Mayor Henry Braun says he isn’t happy that his property tax bill will be going down this year while some other Abbotsford residents will have to pay hundreds of dollars more.
While the average Abbotsford assessment rose 32 per cent last year, Braun says the assessed value of his Downes Road property actually went down seven per cent.
That will result in Braun paying 28 per cent less in property tax this year, for a savings of $1,658.
But Braun says that’s not right, and questions why the assessed value of his house – which is less than 20 years old – decreased at all. (Braun’s land is in the ALR so its price is set by the provincial government, but the house value is determined by Assessment BC.)
“It isn’t fair,” Braun said during last week’s council meeting. “I shouldn’t be getting a decrease. My services haven’t gone down.”
Braun said he was raising the issue as a matter of openness.
Braun noted that many people who have seen their property values increase significantly more than the city average will have to pay hundreds of dollars more in property tax.
While he said there’s nothing the city can do about the present values, Braun said he does hope to meet with BC Assessment to determine “what can be done.”
Following Braun’s statement that he wasn’t happy with paying less tax, Coun. Moe Gill said he had seen a tax increase, and that he wasn’t unhappy with having to pay more.
“For many years, my tax rates were very low, so I think the assessment authority is coming out and providing the right figures that should have been provided a long time ago.”