SUBJECT TO EXECUTION 99-99999, IF ENFORCEABLE

[Dave2]

Well, I just logged onto OTS to see how many "free" packages are available. NONE! OTS is providing half the service that it used to.
Is OTS useful for others? Perhaps. But I have not been receiving any value for my money .

Netpred:  

You are complaining about the wrong thing.  The problem is our wimpish politicians who are not protectors of our public purse because they don't don't go after deadbeats.  Don't believe me; Let me show you how the underlying problem is costing you and OTS Jeff both a lot of money and has nothing to do with the components of his website.  

Because of your concerns; I will give a couple of examples courtesy of our hard working administrator Rob.  (After this post I think you will agree Rob deserves a designated driver plus as many free beers as he can handle.)

Courtesy of Rob; go to the main website and click on the Ontario tax sales section on this website (not Jeff's website) which Rob has listed all of them since 2004.  He has also classified them by county or district and municipality.  

LETS USE THAT INFORMATION TO IDENTIFY THE ONES THAT ARE COSTING YOU (ME, AND ALL OF US) AND JEFF POTENTIALLY A LOT OF MONEY.

For example in the last 7 years all  of the County of Wentworth has not had a tax sale.   (This is a special case and I will return to it in a minute).  Gee I wonder if there are any other counties or municipalities that have not had a tax sale?

Lets go one level lower and I will focus on my home county of Northumberland as an example.   The following municipalities are resident in the county;

Township of Alnwick/Haldimand
Municipality of Brighton
Town of Cobourg
Township of Cramahe
Township of Hamilton
Municipality of Port Hope
Municipality of Trent Hills

When you look at who has had tax sales and the difference in the  number over the seven years it is shocking.  We have had two: Port Hope and Hamilton (Rob has confused the City of Hamilton and the Township of Hamilton) with no tax sales.  

The top one has had 22 over the same time period.  

The town of Port Hope which includes Hope township was founded in 1850.  What if they have never had a tax sale? Think of the potential backlog.

One final number; according to the govenment of Ontario there are 444 municipalities in the province.  I wonder how many municipalities had tax sales in the last 7 years?

Netpred your turn to count.  My objective is to get you the biggest boat you ever saw covered with accessories as my wife calls them with the skimpiest bikinis you ever saw.  

Bottom line is I ain't going to complain about website layout; I have bigger game to hunt.   I will throw this open to the wolf pack for ideas how we can get the deadbeat muncipalities on line.  

Merry Xmas. We have some interesting work in the new year.

Dave2

[Dave2]

Some time ago I did some research about why some municipalities had more tax sales then others.  I set the results aside until I had time to do more research.  The budget impact on the municipality is interesting.  Lets look at one specific case.  The Township of Hamilton in Northumberland County.  
This information is taken from the Township minutes which are available here.  

http://www.hamiltontownship.ca/UserFiles/files/MINUTES%20BUDGET%20MTG%20No%203%20MARCH%2014%202012.pdf

From Item 4.  Presentation of Final Budget:

2.66% levy increase over the 2011 budget
Current programs and services remain at existing levels
Currently Hamilton Township has no debt
(in the form of debentures or external loans ? Internal loan to Water Department)

Assessment/taxes discussions:
Commercial assessment down while residential assessment is up.
406 properties in arrears (3+years)
Work with property owners to develop plan of repayment. Encourage monthly plan. Currently 900+ tax accounts out of 5000 using monthly plan.
Avoid tax sale if possible.

8% of all taxpayers in the township are over 3 years arrears.

Where are TriTarget and OTS Jeff?

[ErnestBidder]

  Is there a law that says a municipality cannot work with a property owner to clear up back taxes, or is it mandatory to throw them out on the street? I, for one, find it encouraging that a municipality can operate with a low levy, within their budget, and still be able to keep its citizenry in their homes. Losing your home is a large heartache: I met a man, many years ago, who was a brilliant engineer, with many patents to his name, who lived in a ramshackle house that, while dry, was kept up poorly. He had pending bigbucks contracts piled up on his desk alongside municipal letters with "URGENT" in red on the envelope, yet he could only focus on writing, in pencil, long well-thought-out letters to federal and provincial politicians, pointing out the errors of their ways. He read a couple of them to me, and, while they were each an amazing analysis of the political stupidity of their manner of governance, his actions were of no help to either him or his wife: they were evicted and the property went for one sort of sale or another. He was, at this time, in his late 70s, and they had lived there for decades.

  I would like to live in a municipality that had low tax rates, yet worked with their taxpayers to keep them in their homes. Taxpayers in their homes spend money on heat, light, food, clothing, etc. Taxpayers evicted from their homes are put in assisted housing, and get money from various sources. Which do you prefer?

  Earlier, Dave2 said: the County of Wentworth has not had a tax sale; this is a special case and I will return to it in a minute. I'd be interested in hearing that story.

  Cheers to all.

[Pfm1011]

8% of all taxpayers in the township are over 3 years arrears.

That means that everyone is paying 8% more tax to keep the town running..No debt means that the people are paying . I dont know about you but I would  be pissed paying 8% more so a bunch of aholes can freeload...additionally think of all the services , parks etc that they do without so the scum  can freeload

Send notices ..put the houses up for sale and I can assure you all of the 8% we pay immediately ..

[Dave2]

I would like to live in a municipality that had low tax rates, yet worked with their taxpayers to keep them in their homes. Taxpayers in their homes spend money on heat, light, food, clothing, etc. Taxpayers evicted from their homes are put in assisted housing, and get money from various sources. Which do you prefer?

  Earlier, Dave2 said: the County of Wentworth has not had a tax sale; this is a special case and I will return to it in a minute. I'd be interested in hearing that story. Cheers to all.  

Ernest Bidder:

You can't have it both ways.  In the case of Hamilton township I would characterize residential tax rates as high.  I am all for compassion but there are limits.  Let me know when you are next in the area (I will even treat you with one of Netpreds beers) and I will show you some properties where the property taxes have not been paid for 40 years.  


Regarding Wentworth County it is a simple answer.  The citizens of Hamilton (the city)decided they needed some local class because the classiest guy in the city left their employ so they absorbed the rest of the county. They needed high class  places Like Ancaster and Dundas to replace him.

[Dave2]

Over two years ago I posted a response to Netpred who was complaining about lack of tax sales.  I used the example of my local county and specifically mentioned Port Hope that had not had a tax sale in many years.  (My post 269)

Recently OTS posted the following:  

http://www.ontariotaxsales.ca/nc/upcoming-tax-sales/municipality/TSuid/1074/pBack/67/stype/featured/muid/358.html

My post was December 24, 2011.

Was doing some related title search work today and look what happened.  

 Registered as ND72052 on 2012 01 31 at 14:44 by a company called RealTax
which is part of OTS.  

Extracting.  

Schedule: Tax Arrears Certificate, Municipal Act, 2001

On January 31, 2012,

Amazing those coincidences

I conclude with my last remark of two years ago.

Bottom line is I ain't going to complain about website layout; I have bigger game to hunt.   I will throw this open to the wolf pack for ideas how we can get the deadbeat muncipalities on line.