Hamilton heading to court over the Niagara conservation authority levy

Hamilton is taking the issue of its skyrocketing Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) levy to court while the authority says the city has been getting a "discount" for years at the expense of its neighbours.

City council voted Wednesday to ask Ontario divisional court for a judicial review of the levy increase. This comes after the province's deputy mining and lands commissioner sided with NPCAoveran increase of roughly $1 million more per year for Hamilton.

Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) followed the NPCA's lead this week, increasing the city's annual levy by about $1.1 milliontoo. Combined with Conservation Halton's increase, that amounts to about $2.2 million per year more on Hamilton taxpayers.

Councillors voted unanimously Wednesday to challenge the decision, which the authorities say is simply following the province's rules.

Terry Whitehead, Ward 8 councillor, says Hamilton's increase has meant"a windfall" for neighbouring cities.

"All we're doing is decreasing the costs for Waterloo,Oakville, Niagara, etc." he said.

"All the sudden, four conservation authorities get to tap into our assessment."

As for the NPCA, the authority says it's "indifferent to the apportionment of the levy," and is "simply following the regulation."

"We've always maintained this entire exercise has been about equity and fairness," said chair Sandy Annunziata.

"The response by Hamilton is not unexpected, but it does challenge our board's desire to have those funds returned to Niagara taxpayers. I suspect those same Niagara taxpayers will speak the loudest after learning Hamilton wants to continue to pursue the decade of discount they've enjoyed at the expense, and on the backs of their neighbours."

The issue dates back to Hamilton's amalgamation in 2000.

That's when the city reached agreements with the conservation authorities to base Hamilton's levy on the percentage of assessment in the authorities' watersheds. Under the new formula, the levy is based on the assessment of the whole city.

The city's other legal battles

NPCA made the change, saying it couldn't find a copy of the agreement. It also saidthe agreement goes against provincial regulation. And the other municipalities in the watershed Niagara Region and Haldimand County, all of which stood to see decreases didn't agree to the old system.

The city appealed that to the provincial Mining and Lands Commissioner. Earlier this month, the deputy commissioner ruled in NPCA's favour.

This isn't the first big court battle city council has had in recent years.

In 2016, the city lost a battle with Canada Post aroundwhere the corporation can locate community mailboxes.That appeal cost about $75,000.

It also successfully battled Bell Canada. In 2015, the city dropped a 12-year Red Hill Valley Parkway lawsuit against the federal government that cost $6 million.

Trying to sidestep the NPCA

In December, city council debated and decided against appealing an Ontario Municipal Board decision around the city's ward boundaries.

The NPCA has had some battles recently too. Ontario's auditor general is auditing the authority after political and community scrutiny around some of its practices. It also recently attempted to sue resident Ed Smith after Smith released a report critical of the authority. The NPCA claimed the report was defamatory. Reports have been mixed regarding how much that legal action cost the authority.

Also on Wednesday, Hamilton city council voted to ask the province for the Hamilton Conservation Authority to enlarge its area to include Binbrook so it can sidestep the NPCA altogether. Matthew Green, Ward 3 councillor, moved that.

This week, Green said the city's tax baseisbeing "pillaged" by conservation authorities.