BARRHEAD - County of Barrhead residents who have been behind three years or more in their municipal property taxes will have until Dec. 4, 2024, to bring their accounts up to date.
If not, their properties will go to public auction. Councillors set the date during the June 4 council meeting.
If a property is not purchased at the public auction, the municipality could become its owner.
County manager Debbie Oyarzun told councillors on June 4 that the process is very legislated under the Municipal Government Act (MGA), saying the province requires municipalities to send their tax arrears list to Alberta Land Titles by March 31.
"If they are going to public auction, it means they effectively owe three years of back taxes going back to 2021," she said.
Oyarzun said once Land Titles receives their list, they will "endorse the properties," and the municipality will receive a tax recovery notification for each parcel on the list; this year, there are 10 properties.
Oyarzun said the public auction, under the MGA, can be held anytime from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
She added that the process, as required by legislation, requires that the municipality advertise the properties and send out several notices to the landowner and anyone else on the land title throughout the process.
Oyarzun noted that landowners have ample opportunity to bring their tax roll up to date or enter into a tax payment plan, adding that anyone can bring the account up to date right up to the auction date.
She said the municipality has traditionally chosen December for the public auction.
"It is quite a bit later in that window," she said. "Council picked that date, so the amount that has to be cleared off the tax roll is just three years [in this case 2021, 2022, and 2023]. If you move it into 2025, you may give them more time to pay, but you are adding another year of owing onto it."
Oyarzun added that the administration is now asking councillors to cement a date to give staff extra time to work with the landowners to help them clear their accounts or negotiate a payment plan.
"We have been fortunate, and for the last several years, staff have been able to work with the landowners and forgo the public auction," she said.
Coun. Walter Preugschas asked if the long-abandoned Camp Creek General Store was one of the properties slated for public auction.
Oyarzun said no, but she hoped the municipality would soon be able to close the book on the property and demolish and clean it up sometime in August.
"There have been some complications about ownership of that property, but the courts have approved our stop order, and it is in place for July 27," she said. "After that, we have to advertise it one more time, but after that, we can take action and demolish and clean up the site," she said.
Oyarzun added that the municipality has received several "unsightly premises complaints about the property," and it is also a safety hazard, saying that last year, the fire department responded to two fires at the site.
Coun. Jared Stoik said that, unfortunately, as the ownership of the property was still unclear, the costs of the cleanup would fall to county ratepayers, and the amount of unpaid taxes owed would continue to build.
Oyarzun agreed but said the court did award the county a small amount for legal fees, admitting those fees would be added to the property's mounting tax bill.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
