BARRHEAD—At their Jan. 7 meeting, County of Barrhead councillors instructed the administration to cancel two certificates of titles for properties that did not sell at a public tax recovery auction.
Finance director Tamara Molzahn told council that, essentially, they had three options: they could do nothing in which titles of the properties, a 3.11-acre parcel 24 kilometres southeast of Barrhead along Highway 651 and a 10-acre parcel about 24 kilometres southeast of Barrhead, would revert to their initial owners or they could request that Alberta Land Titles request that the tax forfeiture status. The reserve price for the properties were $90,000 and $100,000, respectively.
The municipality sold a third property in tax arrears in the Lightning Bay subdivision in Thunder Lake at the Dec. 2 auction for $72,000, with the reserve price set at $65,000. All three properties were in tax arrears for the 2021 - 2024 tax years.
"If we do nothing, we can't dispose of the properties. [They] stay under the ownership name of the current landowners, and the municipality will continue to tax them and levy penalties," she said.
The owner of the 3.11-acre property owed $15,961 in taxes, while the owner of the 10-acre lot owed $4,285.
Molzahn added that if the landowners did not pay their tax obligations, the municipality would eventually take ownership after 15 years.
"To do that, [the existing titles must be cancelled] with new ones issued with a tax forfeiture notice," she said.
Molzahn said that receiving the titles with the tax forfeiture notice would allow the municipality to rent, lease, or sell the property at or close to market value.
However, she said if the municipality did sell the properties, the proceeds would go into a trust for the owners, minus taxes owed and a five per cent administration fee. The owners would have 10 years to apply for funds.
Molzahn said the third option she does not recommend is for the municipality to take a "clean title outright" by purchasing properties at market value.
"[It would make sense] if council identified the properties as desirable to the county for a specific purpose," she said. "Environmental concerns and liability are the big reason not to take [clean title]."
County manager Debbie Oyarzun interjected that if the municipality were to buy the property outright, they would first take the taxes and any other administration expenses off the top, with the remaining funds going into a trust, if the property owners surfaced.
Molzahn also advised the council against doing nothing and waiting for 15 years to elapse while allowing taxes and penalties to accumulate.
"It sends a message to other taxpayers that they don't have to pay their taxes," she said. "Yes, there is a risk that it could be sold at public auction, but if no one comes to the tax sale, which often happens, they still own and have access to the land, all without paying their taxes."
Reeve Doug Drozd agreed, saying that in his 14 years on council, "only once has the clock run out."
"I don't want to see them sit vacant for 15 years," he said. "Let's take [the forfeiture title] now and aggressively market them, get them into ownership and get someone to build on them and pay some taxes. Waiting 15 years for the clock to run out doesn't make sense."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
