BOYLE – The Village of Boyle will be auctioning off two commercial properties later this year after the owners failed to pay their property taxes on time.
The auction, which councillors opted to hold on Oct. 25, is required under Section 418 of the Municipal Government Act, which requires municipalities must offer land parcels on the tax arrears list for public sale if the arrears are not paid.
“Personally, I think sooner rather than later,” said Mayor Colin Derko. “It gets things rolling. In some cases, property owners have no intention (to pay) so why keep dragging it on and putting more of a burden onto the rest of the taxpayers?”
CAO Warren Griffin said the properties share an owner, who would have until “60 seconds before I bang the gavel,” to pay the taxes in full and retain ownership of the land.
“I’m trying to work with the property owner. We’ve also been asking for partial payment, like monthly installments, but that hasn’t been working,” said Griffin.
The village will need to set the minimum bid for the two properties still — one is undeveloped, and valued at $28,830, while the other lot is valued at $33,910, with an improvement assessed at $86,530. Combined, the owner is on the hook for $58,647 of unpaid taxes.
“My intention’s not to be a hard ass, but it’s important to be fair, and to be fair to all parties involved,” said Derko. “We’re keepers of the people’s money, and the people’s money is not being paid. Tax dollars are property of the municipality, which is the property of the people.”
