Alternative Municipal Tax Collection Scheme Bylaw No. 1061, 2023 — full text

This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document. Snapshot 495ddf647815 · verified 2026-06-08 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

DISTRICT OF FORT ST. JAMES Alternative Municipal Tax Collection Scheme Bylaw No. 1061, 2023 A bylaw to create an alternative municipal tax collection scheme for the District of Fort St. James WHEREAS the Council of the District of Fort St. James is authorized to enact an alternative municipal tax collection scheme pursuant to Section 235 of the Community Charter. NOW THEREFORE the Council of the District of Fort St. James enacts as follows: CITATION/TITLE 1. This Bylaw may be cited as the "Alternative Municipal Tax Collection Scheme Bylaw No. 1061, 2023". 2. In this Bylaw: Eligible Property means a single lot or parcel of land and the improvements thereon with an assessed combined value for the taxation year in excess of $3,000,000.00; Eligible Property Owner means an owner of an Eligible Property; General Tax Collection Scheme means the tax collection scheme under section 234 of the Community Charter; 3. The taxes or rates payable pursuant to this Bylaw will be considered to have been imposed as of the 1st day of January 2023 and will be payable to the Collector of the District of Fort St. James at Town Hall, Box 640, 477 Stuart Drive West, Fort St. James, BC, V0J 1P0. 4. The rates and taxes payable pursuant to the Alternative Municipal Tax Scheme set out in this Bylaw are due on or before December 31 of the taxation year. ALTERNATIVE MUNICIPAL TAX COLLECTION SCHEME 5. Pursuant to section 235 of the Community Charter, Council hereby establishes an Alternative Municipal Tax Collection Scheme, as an alternative to the General Tax Collection Scheme. 6. Only those Eligible Property Owners who own an Eligible Property may elect the Alternative Municipal Tax Collection Scheme. District of Fort St. James Bylaw No. 1061, 2023 Page 2 of 3 7. An Eligible Owner may make an election to pay property taxes under the Alternative Municipal Tax Collection Scheme set out in this Bylaw by giving written notice of the election to the District: Attention Collector of the District of Fort St. James, at Town Hall, Box 640, 477 Stuart Drive West, Fort St. James, BC, V0J 1P0, between January 2 and January 31 of the year to which the election applies. 8. If an owner does not make an election under section 7 of this Bylaw, the General Tax Collection Scheme shall apply. 9. An Eligible Owner electing the Alternative Municipal Tax Collection Scheme may pay the property taxes assessable against the property in 12 equal monthly payments subject to the following: a) monthly installment payments are due and payable on the last day of each month of the current year starting on January 31; b) if an Eligible Owner fails to make a monthly payment in accordance with their election under section 7, the Collector shall add 5% (five percent) to the unpaid monthly amount; c) any subsequent payment shall be applied first to the penalty and then to the outstanding monthly amount and any subsequent monthly payment shall be applied first to the outstanding penalty, and then to any outstanding monthly payment and finally to the monthly payment due for that month, and any amount outstanding for that month following the last day of that month will be subject to an added 5% (5 percent); d) prior to the adoption of a District of Fort St. James Tax Rates Bylaw for the year, monthly payments shall be made based on the rates set out in the District of Fort St. James Tax Rates Bylaw for the prior taxation year; e) if a District of Fort St. James Tax Rates Bylaw is adopted for the current year, the Collector for the District of Fort St. James will calculate the monthly payment rate for the remainder of the year based on the rated adopted for the current year and shall include in that calculation of the amount of any deficiencies or excess payments made during the months prior to adoption of a District of Fort St. James Tax Rate Bylaw for the current year plus any amounts owing pursuant to section 9(b) and (c), which payments shall be equalized over the remaining months; f) the District of Fort St. James will notify the Eligible Owner of any changes to the monthly payments based on the calculations set out in section 9(e) District of Fort St. James Bylaw No. 1061, 2023 Page 3 of 3 10. In 2023, Eligible Owners may elect to pay property taxes under the Alternative Tax Collection Scheme set out in this Bylaw by giving written notice of the election to the District: Attention Collector of the District of Fort St. James, at Town Hall, Box 640, 477 Stuart Drive West, Fort St. James, BC, V0J 1P0, within 30 days of receipt of written notice from the District of the passage of this Bylaw, and the terms and conditions of this Bylaw will apply to the Eligible Owners and: a) the property taxes for the 2023 taxation year will be divided into equal payments in accordance with the number of months remaining in 2023, inclusive of the month during which the written notice of election was given to the District; and, b) the first payment shall be due from the Eligible Owner at the end of the month during which the Eligible Owner provided written notice of their election to the District. 11. In addition to the amounts due as set out in section 9, after December 31, the Collector will add to the unpaid taxes 5% (five percent) of the unpaid taxes. The unpaid taxes, together with the 5% added, will be deemed to be taxes of the current year due upon that Eligible Property. READ A FIRST TIME THIS 28th DAY OF MARCH, 2023. READ A SECOND TIME THIS 28th DAY OF MARCH, 2023 READ A THIRD TIME THIS 11th DAY OF April, 2023 ADOPTED THIS 18th DAY OF April, 2023 Martin Elphee, Mayor Gwendolyn Kennedy, Corporate Officer [Original Signed] [Original Signed]