$86,921.92 was recovered by the municipality
$86,921.92 was recovered by the municipality
Looking back on the tax arrears of the municipality of L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet, a file that generated a lot of public interest between 2015 and 2017.
About three years after the former mayor of L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet, Irène Nadeau, confided to CHIP 101.9 a few months prior to her resignation in early 2016, it seems that the municipality would have managed to recover $86, 921.92 in tax arrears that were due to municipality.
According to the municipality, a law firm had the mandate of collecting $78,042.92, an objective which was exceeded. Also, during the same time, the municipality was finally able to sell 19 properties.
Certain individuals who were informed of the subject, and who have requested to remain anonymous, mentioned that, according to them, some people have tried to protect taxpayers who had not paid their taxes, in some cases, for several years. “It’s a small community, everyone knows each other, there have certainly been people in authority who seem to have tried to help citizens who could not pay their taxes. It’s pretty clear. It was probably cheaper internally to make changes rather than to act punitively on this file.” There has never been any charge laid against anyone on this file.
An irrecoverable amount?
The total amount of tax arrears is not known yet, though, on the other hand, it is important to note that after the number of years of municipal back taxes, it is impossible to obtain tax returns, without an agreement, for all the unpaid years prior. The time frame where the municipality can claim their taxes is usually up to three years. However, arrangements can be made between the municipality and the rate payers, but in this context, the legal remedy to the municipality against owners with unpaid accounts is limited.
The former mayor of Île-du-Grand-Calumet, Irene Nadeau, had revealed that some properties had a tax arrears dating back to 2001. In the course of these events, which marked the municipality, five mayors, including Paul-Émile Maleau, Irene Nadeau, Pierre Fréchette and Jean-Louis Corriveau succeeded each other from 2013 until the election of Serge Newberry in the 2017 municipal elections.
Article from the Pontiac Journal (published on August 24, 2016)
