Councillor’s Property Spared from Tax Sale
Thursday, October 3, 2013 @ 4:00 AM
Prince George, B.C.- It was cause for a double take in September, when a property listed on the annual “Tax Sale” list turned out to be owned by a Prince George City Councillor.Councillor Cameron Stolz, who is also the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee for the City of Prince George, is listed as the owner of a property on Chartwell Crescent which was on the tax sale list published on September 6th of this year. The “upset price” was listed as $15,064.78. The “Upset price” includes outstanding taxes, interest and fees.
Properties make it to the Tax Sale list, when their owners have municipal taxes that are listed as “delinquent”.
Here’s how it works: If you fail to pay your property taxes by the July due date, you are assessed a 5% penalty. If you fail to pay the amount before a set date in September, a further 5% penalty is added to the amount. If the amount is not paid by January of the next tax year, the account is considered to be “in arrears” and interest at a rate of prime plus 3% is charged to the account. If the amount is still not paid by January of the following year, the account is considered “delinquent” and available to be offered to the public on the annual “Tax Sale” which happens on the last Monday in September.
The City publishes the Tax Sale list twice in advance of the actual auction which takes place on the last Monday of September. This year, the first list appeared on September 6th, the second was published on the 25th. The property owned by Councillor Stolz was not listed on the second publication.
It is not known if Councillor Stolz has paid the full amount owing as was listed on the initial tax sale notice. By law, he would only be required to pay the delinquent amount ( 2011 taxes) plus penalties and interest prior to the tax sale, in order to have the property removed from the tax sale list. The full amount listed as owing (upset price) on that property includes; penalties, interest, and the taxes owed for 2011, 2012 and 2013, in addition to land title fees and 5%.
If a property has been sold through the tax sale process, the property’s owner would still have one year to pay the full amount listed as owed. If they failed to pay the full amount during that time period, the purchaser takes ownership of the property, and if no one offered to buy the property, the City could take ownership.
250News has made three separate attempts to speak with Councillor Stolz about this matter, our calls have not been returned.
Comments
He forgot …..come on!
Maybe he was withholding payment in protest of the lack of services. Maybe he just wanted his street plowed? A true councilor for the people! :)
He may not have realized how much money it costs to pursue a Conservative nomination in a foreign riding. Something had to give.
Wow, I bet he is one councillor that does not support tax hikes.
Yep, I think we pay way too much taxes, in comparision to the rest of the province.
I say we elect Gus to be on council, I may not agree with all that he says. But at least he does his homework and comes up with reasonable solutions.
Businesses fail all the time and it is not unusual that people run into financial difficulties given the economic climate the last few years. I think the tax sale of lands was almost a full page of the paper.
Alarm bells are raised when it happens to an elected official especially if they happen to be chair of the finance and audit committee. In that case the public is entitled to some details on the steps he is taking to resolve this matter.
First and foremost where did Stoltz get the money to pay at least the 2011 taxes owing? A person would have to have a pretty good relationship with a bank for them to lend money to pay delinquent taxes. If it was a loan from an individual or business what conditions were attached? Will Stoltz declare a conflict of interest if those who have loaned him money have business with the city and council?
Ducking the media will only raise more questions. Time to get your pair out of the mayor’s purse and man up Stoltz.
No matter how you slice it, this is pretty embarrassing for Stolz. But as lonesome said, there might be more to the story with respect to his financial situation.
This site sure loves dragging council members through the mud.
This isn’t mud dragging. He’s a councilor for the city. An elected official. Pay your taxes like the rest of us. If this is legit and he really was in arrears to a point that tax sale legislation took effect, I would expect his resignation as Chair of the Finance Committee effective immediately. And quit running away from the media. Hiding doesn’t help.
Having Stoltz as chair of the finance committee is like having Foster Brooks lead the AA meeting.
PGguy1234 is right, time to tender your resignation.
Ha ha. This is rich!…err perhaps poor?
Why wasn’t his salary from the city being garnished to pay off his debt?
Now it makes sense why he was leading the charge to give himself and the rest of council a 30% hike in salary.
IMO the decision not to pay his taxes was likely a choice not a financial necessity.
Not paying his taxes when they are due is a rather surprising choice to make considering he is chair of the finance committee which is the very committee that sets the penalties for late payment. No wonder there was no increase in penalties suggested during the core review.
He and the mayor who appointed him to chair of the finances committee have some explaining to do.
To have an elected official, City Councillor Cameron Stolz, who also sits as the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, default on his own property taxes is deplorable! He should be required to step down from the finance and audit committee immediately. I have noticed that when the citizens of PG don’t agree with his directions on how and where to spend our tax dollars he is very quick to show his disappointment, arrogance and disdain of public opinion on the matter, I.e. the river road dyke, the DT parking meters etc. Failure to pay your own property taxes for three consecutive years Councillor is utterly incomprehensible and proof that you are no longer competent to hold the position as chair of the F $ A committee and you should resign immediately.
How quickly the tar and feathers were brought out. Congratulations Opinion250.
He won’t get my vote in November of 2014. He is financially incompetent. Pay your taxes Stolz, like the rest of us!
Good reporting, Opinion 250!
so at least now we know Stoltz’s handle on O250. “Findme”!!
Lol, yes that must be it. Certainly no one else would bother to point out the bias of o250. They should rename this site enquirer250.
Don’t worry findme, if you don’t agree with the mob, you get singled out pretty quickly.
The situation is probably somewhat embarrassing for the Councilor, however at the end of the day it is legal to not pay your taxes. The penalties are applicable, and at the end of the day you can pay your taxes and interest, and keep your property.
In fact I have been thinking that not paying your taxes until you are absolutely required to by law. This is to say, pay the penalties, and interest, and hold out as long as you can would be a great way to protest all the increases in taxes, and services, that have been shoved down our throats in the past number of years.
Problem is most people would be to worried that they would screw up and lose their house.
In any event lets not hang anyone until we know the facts from both sides of the story.
Merry Christmas :)
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