City of Trail postpones 2023 RDKB tax recovery

The City of Trail’s 2023 RDKB tax recovery plan hit a setback when the Ministry of Municipal Affairs did not approve it. Consequently, the City is now in the position of having to process the tax recovery in 2025.

In the theme of transparency and accuracy, City of Trail finance staff proposed to use the 2023 assessed values to apportion the recovery amount, and wanted to have the recovery amount be a separate line on the 2024 tax notices. The Ministry was clear that there is no tax mechanism to use a prior year assessment value, and that the recovery must be based on the current year’s tax assessed values and included with that rate, not listed as a separate rate or fee.

“We will follow the Ministry’s directive and recover the 2023 outstanding taxes in 2025,” said Colin McClure, City of Trail CAO/CFO. “The City of Trail remains committed to transparency and fairness. We appreciate the community’s patience as we resolve this outstanding issue."

The original shortfall arose due to an error in the calculation process, affecting all tax classes within the community. As a result, the amount of tax to be collected on behalf of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary came in $630,000 short. The City of Trail proactively allocated General Surplus Funds to ensure that the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary received the correct amount for 2023.

While this grants taxpayers an additional year break on recovering the RDKB taxes, the expected recovery amount on the average Trail home in 2025 is estimated at $94.

City of Trail property owners will receive their tax notices by mail starting the week of May 27. Property taxes and completed homeowner grants are due by Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Taxes unpaid on July 2, 2024 will be subject to a 10% penalty.

City of Trail staff appreciate your understanding and support as they work to serve the community.