Property owners with questions about their assessments can meet the experts at an open house next week.
The “Certified Assessment Rolls First Revision for 2020 Taxation Year” a 244-page document and available online details the values and changes to properties in the capital. Specific addresses are included on the list.
Many properties increased in value for the new year. In some instances the land's value is listed as $0 but the property's worth increased through improvements, such as a new house or addition, or demolitions or removal of value-decreasing items. In those cases, some properties saw their value rise many times over through multi-million dollar improvements.
In other cases the land already had value but there were no improvements and the value remained unchanged.
Improvement values – even if they are $0 – reflect the CDU (Condition, Desirability, Utility) rating applied to each property. The CDU was not included on the Assessment Roll list, but property owners can meet with assessors at an open house at City Hall Jan. 28 and 29 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Homeowners can also make an appointment to discuss their assessments, Hand said, or call 920-5625 or 920-5664.
Residents can also view property value assessments using the CityExplorer online tool. It shows a detailed map of the city and provides information such as the address of a property, its dimensions and its land and improvement values.
The deadline to file an assessment appeal or school support declaration is Feb. 17.
Annual assessments have shown rising values in Yellowknife since 2011, when the total value of land and improvements came to $2.2 billion.
That amount jumped to $4.2 billion in 2019 and almost $4.3 billion for 2020.
General property assessments – more thorough than annual ones - are undertaken every five years and weigh details such as inflation, deflation, improvements and other factors that can change the value of a property over time, according to the City of Yellowknife website. The last general assessment was in 2018.