The Winnipeg School Division will have to raise taxes or cut $5.5 million dollars due to a budget shortfall caused by commercial property assessment appeals.
The Division said the City of Winnipeg informed it last week that those appeals result in a $158.6 million dollar drop in the property tax base.
That’s three times greater than the last re-assessment in 2014.
WSD Finance Chair Chris Broughton called the situation unprecedented.
He said many assessment appeals the city would normally have processed in the fall, were instead completed in the new year.
He said that created the last minute shortfall.
Broughton said the division is already operating on a tight budget.
"In order to maintain services we have two options. We can increase our property tax to 6.4 per cent as opposed to 5.0 percent. Or we can look at $5.5 million dollars in budget reductions which equates to 60 teachers from the Winnipeg School Division," said Broughton.
A 6.4 per cent increase would cost the average homeowner an extra $80 a year.
The WSD has to approve its budget by March 15th.
The City of Winnipeg said it would look into the matter tomorrow.
