InTouch - July 2019
AMO 2019: Continuing the Conversation
MPAC is holding an annual municipal update during the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in Ottawa next month. Join us at 10:40 a.m. on Tuesday, August 20 to hear from President and Chief Administrative Officer, Nicole McNeill, about MPAC’s commitment to accountability and transparency. Carmelo Lipsi, Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, will also share an update related to the next province-wide Assessment Update in 2020 – when MPAC provides updated values for all 5-million properties in Ontario. We want municipalities to understand the process and be a part of the dialogue.

The session will include a question and answer period; if you have a question that would be of interest to the municipal sector, you can also submit it now to julia.lipman@mpac.ca and we will answer it at the session.

Be sure to drop by our exhibit booth (#418) throughout the AMO conference to chat with MPAC staff and learn more about the tools available to support municipalities and property taxpayers.

Unable to attend? We will share a recap of the session in our next issue of InTouch.

Please consider sharing this issue of InTouch with elected officials who may be planning to attend the AMO conference. 
Supporting municipalities when weather strikes
Every four years, MPAC updates the assessment and classification for every property in Ontario. This is done by analyzing sales of comparable properties and the key features that affect value, including state and condition.

Assessments can happen outside the four-year cycle, and MPAC will update an assessment if a change occurs. But what happens if these changes are due to damage from natural disasters like flooding, tornados or other extreme weather events? In this case, property owners of buildings damaged to the point of being unusable might contact their municipality asking about a property tax reduction or refund.


MPAC is available to help: if you’re facing an extreme weather event and would like more information on our role in the tax application process and how we can work with you to manage a high volume of applications, contact your Account Manager on the MPAC Municipal and Stakeholder Relations team .
Assessment of non-profit child care centres
In 2018, the provincial government amended the Assessment Act to ensure non-profit child care centres that are located in exempt properties such as public schools, places of worship, or municipal town halls are exempt from taxation.

More than 98% of eligible child care centres are currently exempt and, as a result, there will be no change to their tax status. MPAC is only visiting a small number of properties that were not previously assessed as entirely tax-exempt.

During site visits, MPAC property assessment team members may review:

  • a copy of the lease and/or occupancy agreement
  • square footage
  • use/type of activity occurring in each building

If eligible for the exemption, the property owner will receive a Special Amended Notice (SAN) reflecting any changes made to the assessment of the property.
Post-Enumeration Results
On June 11, MPAC shared provincial results from the 2018 enumeration campaign with delegates at the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) Conference. Distribution of municipal-specific reports began on July 8.

If you haven’t already, visit the Sightline Portal within Municipal Connect to download the “ENUPOST_CM” file and review the contents, including the 2018 Post-Enumeration Report called “Examining the 2018 Enumeration Process”, which provides an overview of the 2018 campaign, provincial results and metrics specific to your municipality.