After the fire, the region declared the property dangerous and unsightly and ordered Jacob to clean it up. After she failed to appeal the order, the region cleaned it up and sent her the bill.
Citing privacy, the region has refused to disclose how much that cost taxpayers.
Anyone interested in bidding on one of the properties in the tax tender has to submit a sealed bid by Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. to cover outstanding taxes, interest and expenses. If the property owner pays all outstanding taxes and fees before the deadline, the property is removed from the tax sale.
Dan McDougall, interim CAO of the Region of Queens, and Mayor Scott Christian on Tuesday as councillors voted on their 2025/26 budget. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)
Region of Queens councillors approved a $31-million budget on Tuesday that held the line on tax rates while boosting support for people on low incomes.
The 2025-26 spending plan of $31.1 million is about $1.3 million higher than last year.
Councillors also approved a five-year, $46.2-million capital investment plan. That includes projects like the South Queens outdoor pool and the multimillion-dollar upgrades and extensions to water and sewer systems in Liverpool.
Mayor Scott Christian said it was a challenging process, but he’s happy with what this council helped accomplish in their first budget since the 2024 municipal election.
The municipality will add new staff positions that they say will help increase the region’s effectiveness. Those include a new human resources manager, a deputy chief administrative officer and a person dedicated to looking for funding opportunities for the region and non-profit groups. They’ve also made the senior safety co-ordinator a municipal employee.
“It’s frustrating because we have so much that we want to do outwardly in the community, but it’s challenging when you need to address this stuff inside the organization first,” Christian said after the meeting.
“I think that the approach was looking at what’s important, what’s a priority for us, and what improvements to the organization are required and then working from there.”
Councillors were helped again by rising property assessments, which increased by about $87 million, and generated $900,000 more in tax revenue.
That gave councillors room to raise the low-income tax exemption rebate by about 25 per cent. Those who qualify can now get up to a $500 discount on their property taxes.
They’ve also set up a $15,000 fund to help low-income water ratepayers deal with expected hikes.
And community groups are also getting more than $50,000 in extra help, including an annual rent subsidy for the Queens County Food Bank, more funding for Queens County Transit’s vehicle replacement fund and more help for Greenfield Recreation’s operations.
“Just recognizing the need, recognizing the affordability, making the changes that we did to the low-income tax piece, carving out money … around the big increase that we’re going to see to the water rate, trying to protect against the impacts of that on low-income households and then making investments like with the the food bank and some of those other groups. I think those are the highlights for me,” Christian said.
Residents on the municipal water and sewer system should brace for a significant jump in their bills in the coming year.
The municipality’s water utility is projecting a deficit of $813,099 for 2025-26, and shortfalls of $708,039 in 2026-27 and $745,280 in 2027-28.
Consultants are reviewing the region’s water rates. The results of that study are expected soon and will be submitted to the province’s Utility and Review Board for approval.
“We do know we are expecting a considerable increase to the water rate,” Christian said.
“With respect to that north of $800,000 deficit on the utility, … we need to pay down that deficit and then accumulate a bit of a reserve so that when maintenance and repairs need to be performed to the water utility, that there is a reserve to pull from and that we don’t have to take money from the general revenue that’s provided by all taxpayers across the municipality. It’s supposed to be the water rate users who pay for the water utility.”
Councillors began their public budget deliberations on April 24. Christian has said that he hopes next year to begin budget talks as early as January, and to involve more public consultations.
Other highlights from the budget:
Adding protective services co-ordinator to provide leadership and support for police, fire, emergency management and occupational health and safety
Increased budget for street sweeping and catch basin clearing
Grey box site reconfiguration and signage in north Queens
South Queens water/wastewater upgrades and Mount Pleasant extension – two kilometres of piped infrastructure to be replaced, eliminating overflows and addressing sea-level rise effects
Caledonia wastewater system upgrades
Dry hydrant installation
Walking track fees waived at Queens Place Emera Centre
Floating dock replacement on Henry Hensey Drive
Creation of $1-million operating capital project reserve to fund smaller capital projects
Residential property assessment values increased by 9.5 per cent in Queens County over last year. (Rick Conrad photo)
Nova Scotians should start getting their 2025 property assessments in the mail this week.
Annual notices were being mailed out on Monday, according to the Property Valuation Services Corporation.
It appears assessed house values have cooled a bit from the year before. Overall, total residential assessments in Nova Scotia increased by just over 11 per cent, or $16.1 billion. The value of residential properties in Queens County rose by 9.5 per cent, or $189.3 million.
2024 residential assessments rose by 25 per cent in Queens County, and by 19.6 per cent in Nova Scotia as a whole.
Overall, Nova Scotia commercial property assessments rose by 2.79 per cent, compared to 9.32 per cent the year before.
The independent, non-profit body says 2025 assessments are based on sales and financial data and reflect a market value as of Jan. 1, 2024, and the physical state of properties as of Dec. 1, 2024, including new construction, renovations, demolitions, and impacts from natural disasters.
Municipalities received the assessment roll for their region in mid-December.
Jeff Caddell, director of valuation standards for the Property Valuation Services Corporation, told QCCR on Monday that the residential market cooled in 2023 after the Covid boom, but then rebounded later in the year.
“There was still lots of demand for properties, and a lower supply of properties on the market than we had in previous years. And we saw interest rates starting to creep up in 2023 before stabilizing in the later half of 2023.”
Caddell said they’re beginning to analyze sales data from 2024 now, so it’s too early to know whether there’s any kind of trend.
“We’re monitoring those sales coming in now. It’s hard to say what the trend will be going through 2024.”
This year’s rate for the Capped Assessment Program is 1.5 per cent, the Consumer Price Index for Nova Scotia.
The CAP limits the annual increase in taxable assessment for eligible properties to no more than the annual inflation rate. About two-thirds of residential properties qualify for the CAP in 2025.
People are getting their assessment notices, just as the Nova Scotia government approved changes to limit the capped assessment value of homes rebuilt after the wildfires in 2023.
Premier Tim Houston announced in a news release Friday that people who have rebuilt homes destroyed in the wildfires in Halifax and Shelburne counties won’t see an increase in their capped assessment.
Caddell says assessors are happy to answer people’s questions about their property.
“There’s lots of property owners that contact us each year and it’s a great opportunity to engage with the property owner and talk about the market in their area, talk about their property specifically. If we can help somebody better understand the process, then we’re pleased with that.”
Residential and commercial property owners have until Feb. 13 to appeal their assessments.
