The Citizen, 2010-12-16, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2010.Validity of MPAC numbers is questioned
HE
requests
RFP
THE EDITOR,
I read a rather poignant
quote recently, “The shepherd
always tries to persuade the
sheep that their interests and
his own are the same”.
And we're familiar with the
expression “what goes
around, comes around”. This
pithy phrase has even greater
meaning for me, the more I
stay involved in the dialogue
and debates which continue to
circulate within this
municipality, and in
particular, this community.
I found the article in the
Dec. 9 issue of The Citizen
entitled “County Council to
Maintain its Size”, despite the
“depleted voter numbers
produced by the Municipal
Property Assessment
Corporation (MPAC)” quite
enlightening. You alluded, but
didn’t come out and say, that
the lists compiled by MPAC
were out of date and
inaccurate. Despite this,
however, the County reached
an accommodation. As you
know, these lists have been
widely panned as, at best,
inaccurate.
In an editorial in that same
issue, it was said that
municipalities “have become
a method of outsourcing for
the provincial government”.
Sort of being mandated the
“maximum accountability
with the minimum of
authority” thing. I have
referred to this administrative/
management style previously,
although in the reverse
context, as it applied locally
to another agency of the
provincial government.
Basically, you do the heavy
lifting, we'll do the thinking.
This is the same MPAC-
compiled voters lists to which
I referred in my letter about
the quality of the municipal
election, shortly after it was
held, not realizing that there
were even broader
representation implications at
the Huron County level. So
despite the errors and obvious
administrative faux pas, it
would seem that most
government processes seem
to be treated as guidelines
anyway which can be side-
stepped as necessary. No
harm, no foul, so to speak, as
long as you make up the rules.
The County merely decided
to overlook the voter number
errors on the list(s) in order to
maintain the representation
status quo, which may have
been the common sense
solution. Or, we could say
that administrative oversight
is a concern at the County
level, since voter lists should
be their ongoing data base
maintenance responsibility.
Ever wonder when someone
says “they say” but never
identify who “they” are? I
always ask who “they” are. I
wonder if that’s the same as
“bringing in a legal opinion”?
And this is the same MPAC,
with whom I have been
involved trying to get a
straight answer for months
related to residential property
assessments as they pertain to
school closings.
Initially, I received a
response from MPAC dated
August 27, indicating that
according to their residential
valuation staff, “the closing of
a school, in and of itself, has
not shown to reduce the
assessments on the
surrounding properties”.
The operative word
contained in the response is
“assessment”; as we know our
current property assessments
(the market value) was
determined by MPAC in
2008, and is done on a four-
year cycle. These assessments
(for municipal taxation
purposes) have climbed ever
since.
When I pressed the MPAC
author for supportive
evidence of this statement,
my request has taken a lot
longer to deal with – now
approaching three months,
and counting. In an MPAC
video reference found at
www.mpac.ca they refer to
the five criteria used to
directly value a property,
including the proximity of
schools, parks, public transit,
etc.
I found it interesting how
having a school is an
important criterium when
valuing property as it
“appreciates in value”, but the
corollary is not.
And now I read that the
provincial Auditor-General
recently revealed that MPAC
valuations are out-of-date,
and that the selling price of
one in every eight houses
across the province differed
from the market-value
assessment by more than 20
per cent because MPAC did
not have up-to-date
information.
Apparently in a 2006
report, MPAC was said to
have a “superiority complex”
by the Ontario Ombudsman
Andre Marin, that led it to
disdain taxpayers and
produce thousands of
incorrect property appraisals
every year, and voters’ lists
too apparently.
When I started doing my
research, I was under the
impression that MPAC was an
arm’s length organization to
the government, and
completely transparent. I’ve
learned since, that as
government agencies go,
nothing is transparent, and
that it’s in every level of
government’s interests that
our property value (market
value) assessments remain
high, no matter how many
services, or infrastructure
components are removed
from our community.
It’s simply amazing! The
greater the authority, the
lesser the accountability. Is
anyone really paying
attention?
Greg Sarachman
Blyth.
THE EDITOR,
As the year comes to an
end, I would like to offer my
sincere thanks to the
dedicated blood donors and
volunteers of North Huron
who donated and volunteered
at local clinics. On behalf of
Canadian Blood Services and
the patients we serve, I thank
you for your generosity,
selflessness and commitment.
The need for blood doesn’t
take a break over the
holidays. Cancer patients,
patients who need life-saving
surgery, trauma victims and
many others depend on a
stable blood supply this
holiday season.
From Dec. 1 to Jan. 2, we
forecast that we will need to
collect 77,643 blood
donations nationally and
4,074 in the London and area
region to help meet the needs
of patients and hospitals.
The support of your
community is an important
key to the success of
Canadian Blood Services:
You help us provide patients
with the blood they need
when they need it.
As the year draws to a
close, ask yourself: “Have I
given blood this year?” If you
haven’t and you can, please
book an appointment today.
I know that we can
continue to rely on this
community to roll up a sleeve
to meet patient needs. I invite
local residents to join us at
our next blood donor clinic
on Wednesday, Dec. 29 at the
Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre from 3
p.m. – 7 p.m. To schedule
your life-saving appointment
call 1-888-2-DONATE or (1-
888-236-6283).
New Donors and Walk-ins
Welcome. Thank you for
helping us save lives.
Sincerely,
Marisa Gatfield
Community Development
Co-ordinator
Canadian Blood Services.
At Huron East Council’s
inaugural meeting on Dec. 7,
staff was directed to prepare
a request for proposal (RFP)
for three solar installations so
that they’re ready for Dec.
17.
The three projects, one 10
kilowatt solar installation for
each building, are planned to
be installed on the Brussels
Sewage Treatment Plant, the
Seaforth Sewage Treatment
Plant and the Seaforth Water
Treatment Plant.
The schedule proposed by
Huron East Treasurer Brad
Knight states that the RFP
would be available on Dec.
17, that site inspections
would take place by Dec. 30
and the RFP closing would
take place by Jan. 17. The
awarding of contracts would
then take place by Feb. 1 with
a final completion date of
July 1 or sooner.
Letters to the Editor
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Ellen Cook celebrates after being the first
winner at the Belgrave Kinsmen’s Turkey Bingo
on Thursday, Dec. 9 at the Belgrave Community
Centre. Cook won with a vertical and horizontal
line. (Denny Scott photo)
Blood donor clinic in
Brussels on Dec. 29