Latest news with #AaronKennedy
CBC
07-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Property assessment freeze in 2026 may force 'difficult decisions,' minister admits
Social Sharing The New Brunswick government says it hopes municipalities will be able to absorb a broad property assessment freeze in 2026 without raising tax rates on property owners. But if municipal budget figures from this year are a guide, that may be a tall order. At a news conference Wednesday, Aaron Kennedy, the minister responsible for Service New Brunswick, said he hopes municipalities will be able to scrape by in 2026 on revenue assessment increases they can generate outside the freeze and by making "difficult decisions" about how they spend money in their communities. "I appreciate their frustration with the announcement, but I think when you take into consideration that sales and new construction and major renovations is excluded from the freeze there are many municipalities that won't have a freeze in their revenues," Kennedy said. WATCH | 'You, as government, need to do something,' province told by homeowners: Will N.B.'s property assessment freeze actually help lower tax bills? 3 hours ago Duration 1:25 New Brunswick Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy says homeowners angry with their rising property tax bills persuaded the province to freeze property assessments in 2026. But a similar freeze in 2018 was partially nullified when 41 municipalities raised their property tax rates in response. In Saint John, Mayor Donna Reardon said the city has a number of financial obligations that are already fixed for next year, including negotiated wage increases for unionized employees, that cannot easily be managed in the absence of revenue growth. "We have four unions we have contracts with and their wages won't be frozen," Reardon said. "It's difficult." Had a similar freeze been imposed in the current year, Saint John budget documents suggest the city would have had significant problems making ends meet. Saint John did experience about $2 million in increased tax revenue this year from new construction, but that is well short of what would have been needed to finance a $6.8-million increase — or 3.5 per cent — in municipal expenditures and a $2.6-million reduction in the city's tax rate in the 2025 budget. Some combination of higher tax rates and service cuts adding up to $7 million or more would have been needed to make that budget balance under a freeze this year. Kennedy said a $63-million increase in funding to local government's from the province announced in this year's budget should also help soften the blow of the assessment freeze, although he said decisions on how much of those increases each municipality will receive will be made at a later date. In 2018, during New Brunswick's last assessment freeze, 41 New Brunswick communities did eventually raise tax rates to finance their budgets that year.
CBC
07-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Will N.B.'s property assessment freeze actually help lower tax bills?
New Brunswick Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy says homeowners angry with their rising property tax bills persuaded the province to freeze property assessments in 2026. But a similar freeze in 2018 was partially nullified when 41 municipalities raised their property tax rates in response.
Hamilton Spectator
07-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Province proposes to freeze property tax assessments for one year
The provincial government intends to introduce legislation that would freeze real property assessment values. In a Tuesday release, the province said it would 'help provide relief and predictability to New Brunswickers as work continues to overhaul the province's property tax system.' The amendments would allow property assessments to remain at the 2025 level next year, which the government said could benefit 430,000 properties. 'Reform of the property tax system is not a short-term project by any means, but it's necessary to ensure predictability and fairness for property owners in the province,' said Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy in a release. 'We promised New Brunswickers that we would take action. This marks a first step on our way to property tax reform.' Effective Jan. 1, 2026, 'the proposed amendments to the Assessment Act would freeze the amount of assessment (value for taxation) at the 2025 level for all eligible properties for the 2026 taxation year.' There are certain exemptions: It is also expanding access to the equalized payment plan. The proposed amendments would allow eligibility for the 2026 tax year to additional property types, including non-owner-occupied and other residential and non-residential properties. But the move is being criticized by the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick and the the Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick. It says this 'unilateral move' breaks a commitment to municipalities and sets a troubling precedent for interference in municipal finances. 'This government is about to table legislation we've worked on together for over a year to improve municipal funding,' said Yvon Godin, who is the president of the AFMNB. 'But in the very same week, they're pushing forward a measure that cancels out those gains. You can't call that partnership.' The two groups said they share the concerns about affordability for New Brunswickers, however, it explains the blanket freeze undermines municipalities' ability to deliver basic services, as well as, adds to the pressure already facing municipalities. UMNB has said studies have identified a $200-million funding gap for municipalities. Municipalities in New Brunswick are currently only funded by property tax assessment. It also cannot run deficits. 'The freeze puts more pressure on property taxpayers as municipalities rely on property taxes for 85% of our budgets. It puts immense pressure on municipalities to meet the mandates given to us through local governance reform and downloaded provincial services,' said UMNB president Brittany Merrifield. According to UMNB, the freeze could cost municipalities nearly $58 million, almost the same amount promised in additional funding for 2026. Merrifield said in the release it is neither equitable nor sustainable. Both organizations said it reiterates that property tax reform and fiscal reform for municipalities are two different things. 'This isn't partnership – it's paternalism,' said Godin. 'Unilateral decisions erode trust – and destabilize communities.' The province is expected to table the legislation for fiscal reform on Wednesday.
