B.C.鈥檚 Ombudsperson has come out against the City of Penticton for selling a vulnerable resident鈥檚 home after she didn鈥檛 pay $10,000 in property tax.

鈥淲hat happened to Ms. Wilson is tragic: she lost her home and hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity 鈥� all over a tax debt of approximately $10,000. In light of my findings about the mistakes that the city made and the unfair process that resulted as well as the city鈥檚 failure to consider Ms. Wilson鈥檚 circumstances, I have recommended that the City of Penticton compensate Ms. Wilson for a portion of the equity she lost,鈥� said Ombudsperson Jay Chalke in his report.

According to the report, Wilson was evicted from her home. The home was assessed at $420,000 but Penticton sold it in auction for $150,000.

The Ombudsperson made six recommendations including that the City of Penticton compensate Wilson $140,922. The City of Penticton has rejected that recommendation.

鈥淚 am disheartened that the city has not accepted this recommendation, and has not taken any responsibility for its role in the unfairness of this tax sale,鈥� said Chalke in his report.

Penticton takes issue with the report鈥檚 findings and its legal counsel is reaching out to the Ombudsperson office 鈥渢o better understand why a significant part of the city鈥檚 response was excluded,鈥� said city CAO Donny van Dyk.

鈥淲e disagree with the report鈥檚 findings as they relate to the City of Penticton,鈥� a statement from the city reads.

鈥淐ity staff were unaware that Ms. Wilson was a vulnerable person in need of support or assistance until after the conclusion of the tax sale process,鈥� reads the statement.

鈥淢s. Wilson was a vulnerable member of the community in a disadvantaged position. While she owned her home outright, her personal circumstances made her unable to take steps on her own to protect herself and avoid the loss of her home by paying her property taxes,鈥� said Chalke.

鈥淔ortunately, in B.C. there are public bodies such as health authorities and the Public Guardian and Trustee who are mandated to assist vulnerable individuals. However, the City of Penticton did not take any steps to contact these public bodies during the one-year redemption period.鈥�

The city communicated with Wilson 15 times and 鈥渕ost of the communications contained errors and deficiencies鈥�, said the Ombudsperson.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs did accept all five recommendations for municipalities to collect property taxes fairly.

Currently, there is no consistent set of guidelines for municipalities to consider the interests of vulnerable individuals when using their power to auction a person鈥檚 home.

鈥淚 continue to urge the City of Penticton to reconsider its rejection of my recommendation that it take some responsibility for its errors in this matter,鈥� Chalke concluded.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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