Regional District Directors had a long conversation yesterday about the large increase in assessed values in their areas.
Because of Alberni’s increase of more than 40% in assessed property values, there are possible increases in North Island 9-1-1 charges and other shared services where Alberni’s increase is larger than other cities.
Beaver Creek area director John McNabb says the problem is they are built on market statistics and not on actual assessments
“They just take that average and apply it versus actually appraising the property,” he said. “I don’t know if they’ve actually set foot on any of these properties that they’ve assessed the value on, so they’re just shooting in the dark.”
He said the situation needs to be studied by the province as the rate of increase is unacceptable.
Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minion says her biggest concern is young people being priced out of the market.
“I know in my business as a mortgage broker that the average young person who lives in this community will not be able to ever buy a home anymore because of what is happening with real estate values,” she said. “We have a real problem in our community with young people completely being priced out for the rest of time.”
Sproat Lake area director Penny Cote says many seniors will lose their homeowner grant because their house value exceeds program limits.
Directors want the provincial government to review the assessment process, and asked for a future meeting dedicated to the issue, where representatives from BC Assessment are invited to address questions of concern.
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