By Claude & Parth on 2026-03-31, City: Grimsby, View Transcript
The Finance Committee reviewed the town's tax collection performance and finance department activities for 2025. Tax arrears reached 5.4% ($4.3 million), though the town ranks third-lowest in the Niagara region. The committee received reports on 17 tax write-off applications totaling $28,000 and discussed collection practices, with council emphasizing they won't use aggressive foreclosure tactics despite having strong legal authority. The committee also approved their 2025 year-in-review and set a timeline to complete an end-of-term report by July.
TAX ARREARS AND COLLECTION: Property tax arrears increased to 5.4% by the end of 2025, up from 5.1% in 2024, totaling $4.3 million in outstanding taxes. The town must remit taxes to the Niagara Region and school boards four times per year regardless of whether they've collected from residents, creating cash flow challenges. Twenty-one properties were registered for tax arrears in 2025, with only five remaining outstanding and subject to potential tax sale in 2026. Councilor DeMayor questioned whether collection efforts are aggressive enough, suggesting more proactive phone contact with residents. However, council emphasized they will not use aggressive tactics. As one councilor stated: "the last thing that anybody...in this municipality wants to do is foreclose somebody or throw them out on the street."
TAX WRITE-OFFS: The town processed 17 tax write-off applications in 2025, totaling $28,000, with only $6,600 affecting town taxes. Write-offs are available for properties damaged by fire, demolitions, repairs or renovations, and assessment errors. Councilor How raised an unanswered question about what types of repairs or renovations would qualify residents for tax write-offs, noting that all homeowners do repairs regularly.
CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE POLICY: A debate emerged over establishing limits on conference spending. Councilor How called for policy limits, stating: "We still need to or this council needs to come to grips with some kind of policy in respect to conferences... it adds up fairly quickly, and from what I can see, most municipalities have some type of upsides and limits on it." Councilor Vardy defended conference attendance as essential, arguing: "Conferences are really important avenues to do two things: to understand new things that are happening and also it's also our opportunity to get facetime with ministers... being able to get facetime with ministers is very very important."
FINANCIAL HEALTH INDICATORS: A council member noted that tax delinquency rates serve as an indicator of residents' financial health, referencing credit rating agency reports showing an uptick in debt delinquency rates. The official stated: "I always look at this report and say that it gives us an indication of the financial health of our residents and their ability to pay the property taxes... it's really good information for us to be able to assess the financial health of our residents and their ability to pay our bills basically."
END-OF-TERM REPORTING: The Finance Committee announced a timeline for their end-of-term report, with brainstorming sessions on April 23rd and May 28th, draft review on June 25th, and final presentation to full council on July 13th. Councilor Vardy praised the committee's work: "This has been a really productive committee...our staff are doing a fantastic job of pulling these things together and I think collectively...we've been very dynamic...I think the town has really benefited from this collaboration on this committee."
Passed: - Motion to receive Finance Report 26-07 (Tax Write-offs) as information - Motion to receive Finance Report 26-08 (2025 Tax Arrears Status Update) as information - Motion to receive Finance Report 26-09 (2025 Statement of Remuneration and Expenses) as information - Motion to receive Finance Report 26-10 (Finance 2025 Year End Review Report) as information