Recent History – 1998
By Daily News Staff, Dec. 30, 1998
Property assessment in Dawson Creek rose by nearly two per cent, says Brian Hawkins, area assessor with BC Assessment.
Dawson Creek’s assessment roll increased from $467,116,845 to $476,338,600 in the last year — an increase of 1.97 per cent. The 1999 assessment roll is used by city hall, the school board and the regional district to calculate property taxes and requisitions for the year.
In the past few years, city council has chosen to drop the mill rate with a percentage similar to the rise in assessment value to prevent an increase in taxes.
Mayor Blair Lekstrom said that’s exactly what he’d like to do this year as well, depending on council’s wish.
“If assessments on average went up 1.97 per cent, we’d try and roll our rates back that 1.97 per cent to make sure we don’t see an increase, if that’s at all possible. That’s what we tried to do in the previous years,” he said.
Circumstances beyond the city’s control, such as the recently-announced $130,000 rollback in grants from Victoria, will make it a challenge, he said, but he remains hopeful. “It’s not something that I think is impossible or out of reach for our city.” If council would decrease the mill rate, it would be the sixth consecutive year it has done so.
Property owners in Dawson Creek, Pouce Coupe, and the surrounding rural South Peace area are now receiving their 1999 property assessment notices says Hawkins. More than 4,900 assessment notices have been mailed to property owners in Dawson Creek, while more than 450 notices have been mailed to property owners in Pouce Coupe.
The Village of Pouce Coupe’s assessment roll has risen from $24,961,596 to $25,665,796, an increase of 2.8 per cent.
The South Peace assessment roll has gone up from $935,388,176 to $962,061,664, an increase of 2.85 per cent.
Hawkins said BC Assessment only reports the value of each property to its owner and taxing authorities. The value is set by the buyers and sellers in the local real estate market. Over the past year, he said, the real estate market in the South Peace area has been stable. Exceptions to the general trend are normally the result or changes to the recorded property inventory. Typically, changes are due to additions, deletions or changes to the overall condition of a specific property.
In Dawson Creek and surrounding areas, a typical older single family home will range in value from $65,000 to $115,000 while newer homes are typically $120,000 to $250,000 depending on size and quality of finish.
A list of all assessments by property address is now available for property owners to view. This provides individual property values which can be compared to similar properties in the community to help owners determine if their property was fairly assessed. There is a copy at the B.C. Assessment office in Dawson Creek, public library, city hall, regional district, and government agent.
If property owners have any concerns regarding their property assessment, or if the information contained on their assessment notice is incorrect, they are encouraged to contact B.C. Assessment directly. The Peace River area assessment office is located at 1112-103rd Avenue in Dawson Creek. During January, office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Specific or general inquiries are welcomed at 782-8515; out-of-town callers may call the toll free number, 1-800-990-1160. The office can also be reached by fax at 782-9647.