Assessment growth in other parts of Wellington County is lightening the tax burden on Erin residents, who will see an overall reduction of 1.8 per cent on their tax bills.
The total tax on a house assessed at $500,000 would decline about $100.
Council passed the tax rate bylaw on June 5, after a report by Director of Finance Ursula D’Angelo said the estimated savings (not including the impact of property value changes) would total $19.99 for each $100,000 of residential assessment.
In December, council had considered enacting a .5 per cent decline in town taxes (which are 25.94 per cent of the total) using new assessment revenue of $282,665. Instead they put some of that money into the infrastructure reserve fund and settled on a .5 per cent increase.
That means for local purposes, the town will collect $6.6 million, with residents paying $1.42 more for each $100,000 of assessment value. That increase is more than offset by decreases in county and education taxes.
In January, the county passed their 2018 budget with an average tax increase of 2.5 per cent, but the percentage varies in each local municipality. In Erin it is a decrease of 1.94 per cent, or $12.41 for each $100,000 of assessment. The town will collect $14.2 million on behalf of Wellington County, which is 55.73 per cent of local taxes.
Erin has had assessment value growth on existing properties and new construction. Other Wellington municipalities, however, have had even more assessment growth, so they are paying a slightly higher share of county taxes than they used to.
The Erin education tax totals $4.7 million, which is 18.33 per cent of the total. It is declining 5 per cent, or $9.00 for each $100,000 of assessment.
The proportion of property taxes paid by residential owners remains high, but it has declined from 87.7 per cent in 2017 to 87.5 in 2018. The commercial share is down slightly, but the industrial and farmland shares are up slightly.
The 2017 assessment roll shows the total value of all Town of Erin properties at $2,464,384,051. Final tax bills go out in mid-July, with final installments due on August 31 and October 31.
