Chatham-Kent Council is set to get a report back on possible changes to the farm tax ratio in the municipality.
A motion brought forward by Ward 5 councillor Carmen McGregor was to have Council vote on compiling a report to bring to council at a later date providing information on "farm tax ratios in the highest 10 farm assessment regions of Ontario".
Currently, Chatham-Kent farmers have a rate of 22 per cent of the residential rate while many municipalities across Ontario have a farm tax ratio of 25 per cent.
There was a lot of confusion surrounding the motion, one of them being the assumption the increase would automatically go to 25 per cent. Chief Administration Officer, Michael Duben said the report would give multiple scenarios of different amounts, reminding council and residents that this motion was only to approve a report, not an increase.
"The report will give you all the information you need, we are not taking this motion as direction," explained Duben. "If this motion gets passed tonight that does not mean anything is changing with the tax ratio. There will be another meeting sometime in the fall, everybody will be aware of it, there will be a public meeting about it, there will also be an engagement based on this motion, there will also be an engagement opportunity for people to give their feedback. And then the councillors around the table will make the decision. So it is not implemented until councillors make the decision."
The discussion about the farm tax ratio has come to Council four times in the past three years, most recently in April 2023.
Councillor C. McGregor said the reason for restarting the discussion only a year and a half later was because she felt the proposal was most recently discussed in council too close to the budget deliberations.
"There wasn't enough time to be able to talk with the community and do any of that consultation," explained McGregor. "I think doing it in the fall there's ample amounts of time to have discussions before the spring."
The motion went on to pass in a 12-5 vote.