Residents and expert question flawed property valuations at Danford Lake forum
Dale Shutt
Local Journalism Initiative
ALLEYN-ET-CAWOOD – On December 14, the Alleyn-et-Cawood (AC) Council and Evaluation Task Force held a public information session at Bethany Hall in Danford Lake with thirty-plus AC residents and supporters present.
The meeting’s purpose was to inform ratepayers of the actions taken so far by the Council and to address the significant and inequitable increases in property values and taxes.
Pro-Mayor Sydney Squitti began by outlining the actions undertaken since June 2024 culminating with their unanimous resolution requesting the annulment of the 2025-2027 triennial roll. This was presented at the November MRC council meeting and a vote on the MRC’s new bylaw for the calculation of municipal shares is scheduled for the December meeting of the MRC Council of Mayors (CoM).
The next presenter was Charles Lapoutre, a member of the Order of Chartered Appraisers of Quebec, with 40 years’ experience as a real estate appraiser and municipal assessor in the Outaouais region, including the Pontiac. He has been working with the Task Force to clarify how municipal evaluations are currently calculated using the median proportion: in each year of a triennial roll, a connection is made between the selling prices of properties with their assessment as entered on the current roll. With examples of eight properties evaluated, he showed how the median proportion system could seriously distort the value of the properties, especially if they are re-valued every year. In the opinion of M. Lepoutre, this is a waste of resources and time. “Why have a triennial roll if you will still adjust values year by year?” he asked, adding that this method distorts the actual value and does not take into account the differences between the many types of properties and their neighborhood locations.
He gave the example of two properties located on the same lake where one has a
year-round municipally maintained road and the other has no road access, suggesting
this “neighbourhood” would not accurately assess the relative values. The problem for Alleyn-et-Cawood partially lies in the purchasing in 2022 of multiple tracts of vacant land by a developer who sold them for 3 and 4 times the purchase price without actually developing them. M. Lepoutre asked why the FQM did not isolate this newly created “neighborhood” so it didn’t unfairly affect the value of the properties surrounding it. He further suggested that a better system of evaluation would include a calculation of the overall “weight” of each municipality, taking into account the availability and access to services and infrastructure.
An audience member questioned the expert opinions that the CoM received from the FQM (Fédération québecquoise des municipalities) and suggested that this presents a conflict of interest. She then asked Warden Jane Toller, who attended the meeting, if the CoM would be willing to ask M. Lepoutre to speak at a meeting. Warden Toller agreed that could be helpful with the earliest opportunity in January 2025. Pro-Mayor Squitti then suggested that the CoM remove the by-law vote from the agenda of the December meeting and defer it until January as a show of good faith towards AC’s attempt to rectify this issue. Warden Toller said she would suggest the deferral and the request to have M. Lepoutre speak to the council.
The final comment came from Pro-Mayor Squitti concerning AC’s outstanding 2024 shares and the resolution presented to the MRC offering to pay based on the true evaluation and not the budgeted evaluation. “If we were charged in error, it should be corrected.”
The Allyen-et-Cawood council intends to continue the fight to amend the tax roll in 2025 and invited mayors and councillors from all municipalities to take advantage of the research they have done to explore and clarify this province-wide problem. The meeting was recorded and is available to view on YouTube at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XCJjUE48v1s.
