Wow! Someone in Sardis Park got lucky in 2010 and sold his home for a lot more than it was worth. Did he do his neighbors a favour? Hell no! The sale was registered to the BC Assessment Office 20 miles down the road in Abbotsford. Here, in the assessment office are people who sit behind desks assessing homes by comparing such with houses with fairly much the same description (sites unseen). They then send out an assessment notice in January, stating, “If you have any questions about your 2011 property assessment please call your assessment office,” which in actual fact I did and was told that my home had been assessed an additional $36,000 because a home of the same description had been sold for that amount (site unseen).
In late May I received my 2011 Notice of Current Real Property Taxes, and lo and behold my taxes had increased by an excess of $220 from the previous year. I ventured down to City Hall to try to obtain some answers and I was told that it was the responsibility of the assessment office.
But that is not quite true. You see, the assessment office only assesses the property value (site unseen), but the City of Chilliwack fills in the tax amounts and rates. To make a long story short the City of Chilliwack property taxes were increased on an average of five per cent. However, we here in Sardis Park were increased by 12.5 per cent.
This is quite hard on people that are living on fixed incomes e.g. government superannuations, Canada Pension and Old Age Security, as the federal government only increased the above by 1.4 per cent re the cost of living indexing. What is wrong with this picture?
Chilliwack found a way to collect the monies required to buy the houses on “Snob Hill” at a cost to the taxpayer of $18 million.
Mayor Gaetz, I decided that when the information regarding the homes with a “Panoramic View”, came to light, it gave me 18 million reasons why I would definitely not put an “X” beside your name and the names of the members of your city council at the next election. Well now I have 18 million and one reasons why not to vote for you.
Peter J. Lawn
Sardis Park