‘Wait and see’
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Jeff Labine, tbnewswatch.com
Mayor Keith Hobbs says the situation in Dryden is dire.
The conflict’s genesis was the reassessment of the Domtar mill, which saw its property value dropped by about 72 per cent.
Other municipalities, including Elk Lake and Espanola, also plan to withhold paying fees to MPAC.
Thunder Bay now faces a similar scenario to those other regional municipalities. Resolute Forest Products wants a 60 per cent reduction in its assessment, which would bring the current tax assessment value of Resolute of $72 million to about $29 million.
If Resolute gets what it wants, the city could owe the company as much as $7.5 million in retroactive tax payments from 2009 to 2012.
Mayor Keith Hobbs spoke with Dryden mayor Craig Nuttall and said that Dryden appeared to be a city in a dire situation. He wasn’t sure how the city was going to be able to continue to do business as the residential tax base is already high.
Unlike Dryden, the reassessment of Resolute is still underway and requires approval from MPAC.
Hobbs said they will be speaking with the city’s legal department to fight the assessment, but wanted to wait for the hearing before taking any action.
“To go from $72 million down to $29 million as I’ve said before is ridiculous,” Hobbs said.
“Big corporations have to pay their fair share. We’re going to sure to send that message to MPAC and send that message to the government. We do have a reserve fund but I don’t want to dip into those reserves to pay back millions and millions to big a corporation.”
Hobbs added that he will leave it to council to decide if the city wants to offer support to those communities withholding MPAC payments.
“Mayor Nuttall said he may have to hand back the keys to the province for the town,” he said. “That’s how dire it is for these smaller communities.”
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DougMyers says:
There is something wrong when MPAC is jaking up residential property values but dramatically lowering those of big corporations.
If I didn't know better I would say this corporation was being strong armed by small "c" conservative ideals.
I thought we had a liberal government?
If I didn't know better I would say this corporation was being strong armed by small "c" conservative ideals.
I thought we had a liberal government?
4/17/2013 2:19:02 PM
Winger says:
Big corporations have to pay their FAIR share.
Tell us Hobbs, what does the city provide to Resolute thats worth even the $29 million they are seeking to have their taxes reduced to?
What's fair about it? whats fair about $72 million?
Thats why businesses leave for green pastures. Politicians think they are cash cows and they can use that money for things they dream of. Government is supposed to provide a return for those tax dollars. where is the return? whats fair about raping them 72 million every year?
what do you do to earn that 72 mil? let alone 29 mil?
Tell us Hobbs, what does the city provide to Resolute thats worth even the $29 million they are seeking to have their taxes reduced to?
What's fair about it? whats fair about $72 million?
Thats why businesses leave for green pastures. Politicians think they are cash cows and they can use that money for things they dream of. Government is supposed to provide a return for those tax dollars. where is the return? whats fair about raping them 72 million every year?
what do you do to earn that 72 mil? let alone 29 mil?
4/17/2013 3:01:31 PM
conker2012 says:
If
this falling assessment continues small towns will just disappear and
the people will be forced to move to larger centers. The problem will
then be where do the workers come from to support the resources industry
and who will run the gas stations along the highways?
4/17/2013 3:44:49 PM
YellowSnow13 says:
Winger
is bang on! If these companies are NOT there then where are you people
going to work? I guess Hobbs wants to keep business out of Thunder
Bay. He must be Liberal. He should on board with these other
communities and get business rolling here again. But nooooo! That
takes guts.
4/17/2013 4:44:36 PM
22 Agree
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