SUNDRE – Council recently set an auction date and approved sale terms for four properties that have fallen several years behind into tax arrears.
All municipalities in Alberta are mandated by the provincial government to follow the highly-regulated process when properties fall into substantial arrears.
Chris Albert, director of corporate services and acting CAO during the regular June 9 meeting, told council during a briefing introducing the item that the four properties were significantly in arrears for their tax payments.
The next step in the process was to set an auction date and establish terms for the sale of the properties, said Albert.
“This step must proceed per the MGA (Municipal Government Act),” he said.
“We do not have a lot of wiggle room on the steps that we have to follow.”
The four properties have fallen into arrears dating back to 2022, he said, adding the municipality must seek fair market value as determined by a third party assessor.
Administration recommended scheduling Oct. 15 at 9 a.m. for the tax recovery sale.
Coun. Jaime Marr asked if all four properties would be auctioned on the same day and whether that would be feasible.
“Most of these get paid before the auction date,” Albert noted.
“Last year was the first time in a number of years that we’ve actually held an auction; it was only for one.”
And even if there ended up being multiple properties proceeding to auction, the process typically only takes about 10 minutes for each property so there would be ample time, he said.
Council proceeded to unanimously carry four motions setting reserve bids in the amounts of $153,000, $175,000, $140,000, and $188,000 along with the terms of sale on the date recommended by administration.
