By Cheryl Jahn

Property tax sale on City’s agenda

Oct 8, 2024 | 3:27 PM

PRINCE GEORGE- The City’s operating budget is just shy of $160 million, nearly 80 per cent of which comes from taxation. But every year at this time, a list of properties that are in arrears of their taxes is published.

“Every year at this time, there’s a list of properties that are in arrears of their taxes,” says Kris Dalio, Director of Finance. “There are normally close to 200 properties identified as a potential taxable property.”

This year, the list is relatively short, by comparison. 52 properties all over the city. The Community Charter states, “Unless full payment of the outstanding delinquent taxes, plus the necessary interest to date of payment is received prior to the Annual Tax Sale, the following properties shall be offered for sale by public auction.”

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“If you have unable to pay taxes, the first year it goes into arrears, the second year it’s delinquent and the third year, the strong powers that municipal policies have is to sell the property to get the taxes back,” explains Councillor Garth Frizzell.

But, if the property owner does pay up by that one-year deadline, what happens to the person who put the initial bid down a year previously?

“The original property owner still has one year from that time to redeem the property. So if they can get all of the debts paid, then they get the property back,” says Dalio.