It's property assessment time in Ontario, and Ward 8 Councillor Gary Kaschak says residents are already getting nervous.
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) sets property values across the province once every four years; with Windsor's average assessment coming in at $164,000 in 2016.
In 2019, the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors reported the average sale price for a home in Windsor at $354,125.
Kaschak says homeowners in his ward have already been reaching out with fears they're about to get drowned in property tax.
"In Ward 8 there are a lot of those homes that were formally $150,000 or $200,000 that have increased to quite a high value now," he says. "Their rates are going to be affected down the road ... we're going to see some changes, that's for sure."
He says council could provide relief on the mill rate, meaning the amount of municipal tax payable per dollar on the assessed value of a home.
"That would be something that council would have a good discussion on and see which way they want go on that," says Kaschak. "The mill rate calculation is something that we can control and it's going to be interesting to see which way councillors want to go on that."
He expects a packed house when MPAC presents its final report to council in the spring.
"I've got a feeling that could be a busy night that night with an audience and people listening in council chambers and at home," he added.
Kaschak says MPAC is expected to provide property assessments by the end of May.