Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 242016 lake Stewards newsletter | 21 Each Property Assessment Notice includes a unique 120- day Request for Reconsideration (RfR) deadline that is based on the mailing date of the Notice. Property owners have the opportunity to review their assessment and contact MPAC to resolve concerns before municipalities receive the final assessment roll for 2017 taxation. It’s important for property owners to note their unique RfR deadline and to review their notice as soon as received to ensure timely action. AboutMyProperty.ca has been improved to offer owners easy online access to detailed information about their own property and neighbouring properties in the area, including local market trends. We believe that the improvements to AboutMyProperty will enable taxpayers to gain a greater understanding of the assessment process and the information used by MPAC in the valuation process. Online filing of the RfR can also be done through this website. We know it’s important to property owners that we correctly assess and classify their properties. We’ve spent much time in the last year reaching out to associations such as FOCA to enhance communications, and we plan to continue this momentum in the year ahead to truly improve our service andrelationships.Wealsoremaincommittedtoworkingwith all stakeholders in the property assessment and taxation system to arrive at a system that works well for everyone and creates awareness that MPAC is an organization that delivers meaningful value to the communities it serves. FOCA has a long history of speaking out about the impacts of Current Value Assessment on waterfront property taxes. The current 4-year tax implementation cycle that is now standardized in Ontario’s Assessment Act, is a small measure that can smooth the year-over- year burden of increases on property owners, especially during times of rapidly increasing values. (Any decrease in assessment is applied immediately.) It is worth noting that in parts of ‘cottage country’ over 90% of the municipal taxes come from residential property taxes! Concerns about ‘ratepayer affordability’ remain, given that projections show that an even larger share of the cost for delivering local services will be borne by residential property owners in future. FOCA reminds our members that the RfR deadline has changed this year; it is now 120 days from the mailing date on your property assessment notice. For details about filing an RfR, and a link to a short video overview about assessment and market trends in your area, visit FOCA’s webpage: https://foca.on.ca/how-to-challenge- your-property-assessment/ Speaking Out on Impacts LOVE WINTER THE MOST HARDCORE WINTER COTTAGERS WE’VE EVER MET COLIN AND JUSTIN’S COZY CABIN WINTER 2015/16 $6.95 COOL ISSUE, EH? BOAT SHOW PREVIEW Easy-to-make FOOD GIFTS / Photo contest WINNERS / visit cottagelife.com/foca16 or call toll free 1-800-465-6183 and quote “FOCA16” FOCA Frac AD Newsletter Summer 2016.indd 1 2016-05-30 2:34 PM