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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTR-17-00 .. ~ . THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON REPORT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File#:r~7I!fJ Res.#U/lil. C;J(-OO Date: June 5, 2000 Report #: TR-17-00 File #: By-Law #: Subject: MUNICIPAL TAX SALES. UTILIZING SERVICES OF A LAW CLERK OR COURT SERVICES AGENT Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report TR-17-00 be received; 2. THAT routine searches and assistance in processing of potential tax sale properties, be handled by a Law Clerk or Court Services Agent, on a fee for service basis; and 3. THAT the more complex issues relating to tax sale procedures continue to be referred to the municipal solicitor, Dennis Hefferon. Background and Comment: The Municipality's solicitor, Dennis Hefferon, handles the current process for searches and tax sale procedures, in addition to all the complex legal issues that the Municipality is faced with. Since a large part of the process is routine title searches, notices, etc. much of which is clerical in nature and has multiple deadlines, it is suggested that it maybe more efficient from a timing perspective to utilize the services of a Law Clerk or Court Services Agent. , TR-17-00 MUNICIPAL TAX SALES - UTILIZING SERVICES OF A LAW CLERK OR COURT SERVICES AGENT Page -2 - Attached, for your information is a confidential memo from Rhonda M. Bishop, listing the services she can provide. She is currently working with the Clerks and By-Law Departments and it is proposed that at least for the initial trial period, because she is familiar with the Municipality, her services be contracted. The above recommendations have been discussed with the solicitor. Respectfully submitted, ~. ne A. Marano, H.BSc.,AMCT, Treasurer. Reviewed by: dr~~ Franklin Wu, M.C.I.P.,R.P.P., Chief Administrative Officer. MM/NT/MWF/hjl Attachment (Confidential - circulated under separate cover) < Confidential Attachment To Report TR-17-00 INTERDEPARTMENTALMEMORANDU~ Date: April 14. 2000 To. Maureen Wiles.Frost Tax Collector From Rhonda M. Bishop Court Services Agent Subject' Municipal Tax Sales - 2000 This is further to our conversation of April 12, 2000. As a result of our discussion, I wish to offer my services to assist you in the processing of your department's tax sale files under the Municipal Tax Sales Act (MTSA) Upon your making the determination about which properties are eligible for a tax sale proceeding, 1 will: o search title to the property to determine the names and addresses of persons to whom Notice is required to be sent, obtain full legal descriptions and property identifier numbers; o prepare and send demand letters to owners of land and any mortgagees for the purpose of avoiding the tax sale procedure and allowing a final opportunity for payment: o act as a liaison or contact/resource person to owners and encumbrancers of property and your staff for any questions concerning the MTSA or its proceedings; o prepare Tax Arrears Certificates and register them on title; o prepare and send Notices and Final Notices to persons entitled to receive notice; 0) prepare the appropriate Statutory Declarations and register them on title, o prepare Cancellation Certificates, when advised by you that the cancellation price has been paid, and register them on title; <) assist you in the process of auctioning or tendering lands for the purpose of sale; <) prepare Tax Deeds or Notices of Vesting, as the case may be, and register them on title; o carefully maintain an abeyance system to keep track of the time iimits legislated by the MTSA; .../2 APR-13-00 08:46 PM RHONDA M BISHOP 905 723 8781 P.03 . Maureen Wiles-Frost April 13, 2000 o prepare and forward a report to you on the status of each tax sale file after each step of the process Is carried out; o accurately maintain an itemized list of all costs associated with each file and report the list of costs to you as requested or required. My fee for services is $62.50 per hour. For Clarington my fee is reduced by 15% to $5312 per hour. There are also certain costs associated with searching title. registering documents and sending certified or registered mail, all of which will be paid by me and invoiced back tq the Municipality in the form of an account. I currently send out an account to the ClfHk's Department every 2-4 weeks. If you wish, a separate account can be issued for any services I undertake for the Tax Department. In any case, all costs I incur will be recorded and itemized as mentioned above for the purpose of determining a cancellation price, whether or not a separate account is desired. I will prepare all the documents as needed, or, to save expense to the Municipality, I can prepare the documentation in draft form and they can typed, photocopied and put into final form by your own staff and returned to me to register on title. An even greater cost-savings to the Municipality would be for me to simply conduct the search of title and advise your staff of the correct legal descriptions, property identifier numbers and full names and addresses of persons requiring Notices. Then the entire document Can be prepared by your staff. photocopied and put into final form and forwarded to me for registrlMion purposes only. As I mentioned to you, there are circumstances in a tax sale proceeding that may require the opinion or expertise of a solicitor. Should you choose to make use of my services, I would still recommend that you continue to use your Municipality's solicitor for opinions of title and legal questions that may arise during the process. I would be pleased to meet with you to discuss this proposal. Kindly contact me at your convenience. Thank you. &M~'