Property assessors in the province no longer work for Service Nova Scotia. With the April 1 creation of Property Valuation Services Corporation (PVSC), 165 individuals transferred from the province’s assessment services division to the not-for profit agency.
The new corporation, owned by the municipalities and managed by a board of directors, has assumed responsibilities for determining market values of properties in Nova Scotia.
At Digby’s April 7 council meeting, Alain Doucette and Jeff Caddell, representatives from PVSC made a presentation regarding assessment valuations. They noted that land values are an important factor in assessments and properties that are waterfront or have a water view may have a higher value than other land.
Building permits are required whenever significant improvements are made on properties and assessors have access to this information. They also make use of real estate sales statistics.
Doucette also presented information about CAP, a program designed to protect Nova Scotia property owners from dramatic increases in market value by limiting annual assessment increases.
Doucette and Caddell noted that property owners who have experienced what they believe are unwarranted assessment increases have the right to appeal their assessment. They added that individuals may contact a local assessor at PVSC’s Kentville office at 1-800-280-8979 for more information, or visit PVSC’s website at
www.pvsc.ca .
