Tribunal rules benefit assessments do not apply to municipal drain maintenance; assessments must be based solely on outlet.
The appellants, landowners within the Little Creek Municipal Drain watershed, appealed the Engineer's Reassessment Report for future maintenance of the drain.
They argued that the Engineer's ratio of 'benefit' to 'outlet' assessment unfairly burdened their lands.
The Tribunal found that the Engineer relied too heavily on previous reports and that, for maintenance projects, benefit assessments should not apply because maintenance simply preserves the existing outlet for all lands in the drainage area without providing new benefits.
The Tribunal ordered the Engineer to revise the assessment schedule to eliminate benefit assessments and base it solely on outlet assessments.
The Tribunal also ordered corrections for overlooked woodlots and ownership errors, and directed the municipality to proceed with requested maintenance work.
Marie and Marcel Lefaive et al. v. Town of Lakeshore, 2014 ONAFRAAT 22
