October 2020
Hearing from our Municipal Liaison Group
Our Municipal Liaison Group (MLG) met virtually on October 22. During that time we continued our conversations on how we are supporting municipalities through this pandemic and heard from the group on continued efforts to digitize building plans and submit them to MPAC electronically, which helps us capture new assessment.

Our MLG group also provided input on our work to redesign Municipal Connect, which is well underway. We have engaged with a group of 18 municipalities who are regularly sharing valuable user feedback as we build the new system and we anticipate municipalities will transition to the new system early in 2021.
Upcoming webinars
Monitoring the Market & Industry Engagement

While we don’t know when the next Assessment Update or valuation date will be, our valuation experts continue to monitor market activity and work directly with property owners and stakeholders to maintain a current and accurate property database.

Join subject matter experts Joe Regina, Director, Research and Advisory Services and Cathy Ranieri-Sweenie, Director, Strategic Business Support, to hear about some of the market impacts the pandemic is having on certain property sectors, and learn more about our plans to work directly with key industry stakeholders to collect and share information and insights to support future Assessment Updates.
Date: Thursday, November 19
Time: 1 to 2 P.M. EDT
Tax Applications - Who does what and how MPAC works with your municipality
 
Join Michelle Lindquist, Regional Manager, Municipal and Stakeholder Relations and Brian Lopes, Senior Legislation and Policy Analyst, for an overview of the Municipal Act Tax Application process.

Learn about MPAC’s role in this tax application process including common scenarios, best practices and how we can work collaboratively with your municipality. Time will be dedicated to answering your questions throughout the webinar.
Date: Wednesday, November 4
Time: 1 to 2 P.M. EDT
You can find a recording of last month’s webinar on our New Assessment Forecasting and Reporting process, along with all our monthly municipal webinars, on our YouTube channel.
Past webinar: Spotlight on the Farm Property Class Tax Rate Program
Earlier this month, MPAC hosted a joint webinar with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Agricorp to provide an overview of the Farm Property Tax Rate Program’s administration, the process for municipalities from application through approval, and a discussion on consolidation and severance, Tax Incentive Approvals (TIAs) and Tax Incentive Year-ends (TIYs). If you missed the webinar, you can find it with all our municipal webinar recordings on YouTube.
Moving forward: updates to the PAN and AboutMyProperty
Next month, we are launching changes to the Property Assessment Notice (PAN) and AboutMyProperty (AMP) to enhance the customer experience for property owners.

These changes were informed by market-tested feedback and include:

  • re-ordering PAN content to intuitively walk the reader through the information
  • simplifying the login and registration process for AMP while still optimizing security
  • a new user interface for clear and simple navigation
  • enhancements to the online filing of a Request for Reconsideration (RfR), the fastest and easiest way to submit and track the progress of an RfR.

To access this information, property owners will be instructed to visit mpac.ca and log in to AboutMyProperty using the Roll Number and Access Key on their notice. Users who already have an account can log in using their existing User ID and password and they will be prompted to re-register using their email address and a new secure 11-character password.
AMO’s Cyber Security tool kit
We are always looking for new ways to share information, best practices and insights with our municipal partners. During our delegation to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)’s Digital Government Task Force earlier this year, our ISO27001 certified IT team was able to provide valuable cyber security insights that went towards developing AMO’s new Cyber Security Toolkit. AMO designed the toolkit to build cyber security knowledge and help its members manage the risk of a potential attack with best practices and policy considerations.
New feature in Municipal Connect
Starting November 2, 2020, municipal staff will be able to view and track the status of severances and consolidations for their municipality through WorkSight in Municipal Connect. This enhancement will also provide municipalities an efficient way to access copies of completed Severance Consolidated Information Forms (SCIF), making the portal even more of a one-stop shop for our municipal partners. Your local Municipal and Stakeholder Relations team will be offering training to municipal staff throughout November.
When we saw an opportunity to build greater awareness and understanding of the Farm Property Class Tax Rate Program this fall, we approached the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Agricorp to co-host an informational webinar for the municipal sector.
 
“We’re looking at ways to work collaboratively with our government partners to share common information with our shared stakeholders,” says MPAC’s James Harvey, Account Manager, Government Relations. “By co-hosting a webinar we are giving municipalities access to the same information at the same time. This format also gives municipalities the chance to have a dialogue with all of the involved parties together.”
 
Over the summer, we worked with the Ontario Municipal Tax and Revenue Association (OMTRA) and Municipal Finance Officers' Association (MFOA) to co-host two webinars for municipalities about the Assessment Review Board appeals process to support them in navigating schedule changes and the demands of the process during the pandemic.
 
We are continuing to identify opportunities to make connections across the municipal sector and provide our municipal partners with resources and tools to support them in their work.
 
Do you have a suggestion for a collaborative information session? Share it with us.