Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development met on October 11, 2005, to review Bill 9, Municipal Statutes Amendment Act. This act makes minor amendments to the Charter Communities Act, the Cities, Towns and Villages Act and the Hamlets Act.
The committee asked for an explanation of the new amendment that deals with transferring unpaid service charges to property taxes. The amendment will allow a municipal taxing authority to recover any outstanding bills or fines that relate to real property and charge them against property taxes. A homeowner, for instance, could lose their property over unpaid parking tickets or library funds. The committee was particularly concerned that there is no dispute resolution mechanism associated with this municipal power.
The Minister and his staff advised that this function was inadvertently omitted in the comprehensive amendments and needs to be reinstated. The Minister further advised that communities have requested this amendment be made because they have had to carry unpaid water and sewer charges, while continuing to attempt to collect them, and this has caused a hardship.
As part of the New Deal, this is a tool that will allow all municipalities to collect outstanding fees that are owed to them. Finally, the Minister advised that there are no dispute mechanisms, but an appeal process can be put in place by the municipalities. Following the clause-by-clause review, a motion was carried to report Bill 9 to the Assembly as ready for Committee of the Whole. This concludes the committee's general comments on Bill 9. Individual committee members may have questions or comments as we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.