Happy Valley-Goose Bay property tax rate will fall, says councillor

People in Happy Valley-Goose Bay will see a drop in the residential tax rate next year, says the chair of the town's finance committee.

The Municipal Assessment Agency recently released property assessments and they're up by an average of 33.1 per cent in the central Labrador town.

Cora Hamel-Pardy said that the town knew it had to reduce the rate after seeing these figures.

"We acknowledge the impact this is going to have on residents, and the appetite is there to adjust it," she said.

Hamel-Pardy said the town will have to do a financial assessment before determining how much the rate should drop, but is adamant that there will be a reduction.

The seniors committee in Happy Valley-Goose Bay have been circulating a petition asking council to cut the rate from eight to six mils.

"I see that the evaluations have gone from an increase of 20 percent, 50 per cent, 60 per cent, even as high as 138 per cent on a single property," said Wayne LeGrow, a member of the seniors committee. "That to me is just outrageous,"

Hamel-Pardy said the town has been reminding residents that it is the Municipal Assessment Agency, a provincial Crown corporation, sets property values, not the town.