A decision by city council in Penticton to offer compensation to a local woman, whose home was sold below market value to cover unpaid taxes, earned the approval of the province’s ombudsperson.
Last week, ombudsperson Jay Chalke issued a scathing report titled ‘A Bid for Fairness’ and took aim at the city, which sold the house in a 2017 tax sale.
The homeowner, a 60-year-old woman described as being vulnerable and having personal challenges, owed $10,000, but had funds to cover the amount. The city sold the home for $150,000, well below the assessed value of $420,000.
“When the sale completed one year later, Ms. Wilson was evicted and lost approximately $270,000 of equity in her home,” reads the report.
“The results of this investigation are disturbing,” said Chalke. “Ms. Wilson was a vulnerable member of the Penticton community and just needed some extra assistance to pay her taxes.”
The report recommended the city to reimburse the woman $140,000 — roughly half of what she lost in equity. The city disagreed with the report’s findings.
But on Tuesday, city council held a meeting regarding the tax sale, and council voted 5-1 in offering compensation. The city will pay $140,922.99.
“On behalf of Penticton city council, we wish to deliver an apology to ‘Ms. Wilson’ concerning the tax sale of her former home,” Penticton mayor John Vassilaki said in a press release.
“The process by which ‘Ms. Wilson’s’ home was sold followed an unfortunate set of circumstances that occurred as a result of provincial legislation.
“The City of Penticton acknowledges the part that it played in this process and is committed to working to improve provincial legislation related to property tax sales. There was, however, another side to this story and we are disappointed in the ombudsperson’s conduct and his report.”
Not long after the city announced that it would be reimbursing the homeowner, the ombudsperson issued a press release.
“I am very pleased that city council has accepted our recommendation that Ms. Wilson receive compensation,” said Chalke. “This outcome clearly demonstrates that it’s never too late to do the right thing.”
Tuesday’s announcement by Chalke also said the report “found the City of Penticton’s correspondence to Ms. Wilson contained numerous errors and the city did not do enough to find out why Ms. Wilson was not paying her taxes.
“The report highlights that the city should have contacted the public guardian and trustee or Interior Health given the pending sale of Ms. Wilson’s home.”
The announcement ended, with Chalke stating “I am pleased that the city government took another look at our recommendation. I also wish to thank city staff who provided my office with the information we needed to conduct our investigation.”
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