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Local improvement assessment records
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4.20 m of textual records
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Administrative history
The Assessment Division was created by Council as the Office of the Assessment Commissioner in 1886. The Department was responsible for overseeing the real property assessment function within the city. The primary responsibility of the Commissioner was to estimate the value of each parcel of real property in the city and to prepare an annual real property assessment roll for general property tax and school tax purposes. Assessments were subject to appeal to the Court of Revision, as requested by property owners.
In the early years of the City's history, the Commissioner was additionally responsible for the management of city owned properties, promotion of industrial development, providing assistance to the City Solicitor and handling the tax sale of properties in addition to preparing assessment rolls. In 1947 (by-law no. 3047) the Assessment Commissioner also became responsible for a business premises rental value assessment roll, for business tax purposes. The assessment function was located within the Financial Department primarily because of its direct connection to the department's tax related functions. As the City grew, many of these functions were passed to specialized divisions within the department.The Director of Finance and his predecessors had general control and supervision over the arrangement of the Division, but did not exercise any direction or control in the performance of the Assessment Commissioner's statutory duties.
In 1966, the Assessment Division was established, with the Commissioner as its head.
In 1975, the establishment of the British Columbia Assessment Authority resulted in the transfer of this responsibility to the provincial government in 1977.
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Administrative history
Since 1966, the Revenue and Treasury Division has been responsible for the functions of treasury and tax collection. The treasury function has been part of the Department of Finance since 1886. Prior to 1966, the duties associated with this function were carried out by the City Treasurer and included receiving monies, the paying of authorized accounts, custody of negotiable securities (with the Director of Finance) and the recording of debenture ownership as requested. The tax collection function has also been part of the Department of Finance since 1886. Prior to 1966, the duties associated with this function were carried out by various offices, e.g., the Collector of Taxes, Poll Tax Collector, Revenue Tax Collector, and Special Collections Branch, and included the collection of property taxes, local improvement charges and flat water rates, parking meter monies, and other sundry accounts, auctions involving the tax sale of property, the issuing of tax certificates and the custody of the tax rolls. In 1966, these two functions were brought together through the amalgamation of the Property Tax Branch and Collections Branch to form the Revenue and Treasury Division.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Series consists of records documenting the levying of special assessments to finance various infrastructure improvements in neighbourhoods across the city, including construction of sidewalks, paving roads, installation of street lighting, and construction of community centres and other public amenities. Local improvement assessments are levied separately from property taxes, applied to the properties that benefit from the particular improvement.
Local improvements could be initiated either by petition from property owners in a particular neighbourhood, or by recommendation of a City department. Property owners were able to appeal a proposed local improvement assessment at the Court of Revision; as a consequence, not all proposed improvements were completed. Council would decide which proportion of the improvement would be financed by property owners and which from City finances. Each assessment and any associated debt financing was authorised by its own individual by-law, and the individual projects were referred to by the by-law number in the records.
Infrastructure projects would ordinarily be financed by the issue of debentures; part of the assessments levied on property owners would fund the interest payable on the debentures, with the remainder paid into the Sinking Fund to accumulate the capital required to pay off the debenture on maturity.
Records in the series consist of ledgers showing assessments levied on individual properties. Each assessment shows the frontage and/or flankage of the property (from which the assessment amount was calculated), and the assessed amount, by legal land description of each assessed property. The schedules are considered an integral part of the by-law which authorised the assessment, but after about 1950 they were physically filed with the Office of the Assessment Commissioner (until 1977), then the Property Tax office instead of bound with the original by-law.
The series also contains an index to the earliest local improvement by-laws, listing by street name the various types of assessment by-laws and by-law numbers.