The Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD) is advising property owners in some areas of the Nicola Valley of a possible error on their property tax notices in relation to fire protection services.
The regional district said in a release on Wednesday (May 31) that it recently became aware that some properties in electoral districts ‘M’ (Beautiful Nicola Valley – north) and ‘N’ (Beautiful Nicola Valley – south) were taxed for fire protection services even though they are outside of the service area boundaries, while other properties within the service area were not taxed for fire protection.
While the TNRD said that fixing the issue is mostly out of their control, they have engaged the proper provincial entities to fix the issue.
“Like all regional districts in B.C, the TNRD does not collect taxes directly and does not issue tax notices to properties,” said the regional district in its release. “The TNRD has notified BC Assessment and the Property Taxation Branch of this error and is actively working with these provincial agencies to correct the error.”
The release added that B.C.’s Property Taxation Branch informed the TNRD that impacted properties will receive a revised notice in mid June, which will include an extended payment due date. Notices will only go to properties that are within the fire department response area near the City of Merritt, including Lower Nicola, Miller Estates and part of Coldwater Road, and properties west of Lower Nicola which were removed from the fire protection service area in 2022 that include the Sunshine Valley and Canford.
For further information or inquiries on the issue, the TNRD press release points to the Property Taxation Branch, which collects taxes for unincorporated areas in B.C., and can be contacted at 1-888-355-2700.
