By MorinvilleNews.com Staff
Legal – Council unanimously passed a new bylaw at its July 19 regular meeting, allowing the town to use the services of the Capital Region Assessment Services Commission (CRASC) for its assessment review hearings. Under the service, CRASC would provide Legal with trained assessment review board panellists to facilitate complaint hearings.
Under new province-wide legislation, municipalities are now required to have a Local Assessment Review Board (LARB) to hear complaints regarding residential properties with three or fewer dwelling units and farmland and a Composite Assessment Review Board (CARB) to hear all other matters. These boards range from one to three members.
Although Mayor Albert St. Jean and Councillor Cassandra Oullette are currently undergoing training, Legal is not presently authorized to do anything with respect to hearing assessment reviews until it has sufficient trained panellists. Once the mayor and councillor have completed training, they will be able to take part in the assessment review process, but only on business and residential concerns and nothing larger than a three plex in the case of residential.
Council heard from administration that Redwater and Bon Accord were also making use of the service and that if there were no hearings, the annual cost to the Town of Legal would be approximately $600 – a $438 annual fee and .20 per parcel of land. In the event of assessment review hearings, the town would pay an hourly rate for panellists who came to hear the complaint.
In addition to the bylaw, council also passed a resolution to set the rate for filing an assessment complaint at $50, although it will remain $20 for 2010.
