Trenton passes new tax bylaw

The Town of Trenton’s new taxation system is officially the law of the land.

At its regular meeting on March 12, council approved the new tax bylaw that implements a series of service fees to Trenton residents, while lowering property tax rates.

The new bylaw mandates the removal of the costs of certain services from the property tax on residents, and replaced by fees. Residents will be charged user fees for solid waste collection and disposal, wastewater and fire hydrant services.

“We’re excited to see a new change that we feel will be beneficial to the Town of Trenton, and we’re looking forward to possibly being able to draw a bit of interest from the business community,” said Mayor Shannon MacInnis, the day after council approved the new bylaw. “Because of the dramatically lower tax rate, residents will see a fairer system.”

The new bylaw’s changes to taxation in Trenton will be implemented at the beginning of the 2018-19 fiscal year.

CAO Brian White said the town “went above and beyond what is required,” to implement the bylaw, considering that the normal process doesn’t require any public consultation beyond an advertisement giving notice of council’s intent to change the law.

“We went beyond that … (and) distributed a little flyer in everyone’s mailbox, setting out the proposal, and providing some details on a couple of representative properties, so people could see what might happen,” said White.

The bylaw met with mixed reaction when council took the matter before the public for input at two information sessions. Some residents were opposed, stating that it was unfair and complicated, while others encouraged the move to the new system, saying it would make taxation fairer for them.

White noted that before and after the two public information sessions, residents contacted the town, wanting to know the impact the new bylaw would have on them.

One of the most commonly heard concerns was that it would have a negative impact on lowerincome residents, and residents who live on properties with lower assessment values – that they would be overcharged in their user fees.

The Town of Trenton plans to deal with such a potential issue by raising the tax exemption for lower-income residents.

“We, and most municipal units, offer some form of tax exemption for lower-income people. Each municipality sets their own criteria for these exemptions. In our particular case, we have offered an exemption of $150 for people who would qualify,” said White.

Subject to approval in this upcoming fiscal year’s budget, White said the Town of Trenton is looking at increasing the exemption to $250, and lowering the income threshold required to qualify for the exemption.

“As much as it is a change for everybody, we are certainly not going into new territory. Half or more of the municipalities in the province are already following the same process — it’s not a new process,” said White.