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Case L'Ami of L'Ami's Garden Centre was assessed a $4,000 tax penalty for not paying his taxes during the two-year construction period on Lakeshore Drive. L'Ami made a presentation to city council Monday night expressing his dissatisfaction.
Case L’Ami ‘s business was hit hard by the delayed construction on Lakeshore Drive.
Now, he’s being hit with a tax penalty to the tune of $4,102.46 for not paying his taxes on time.
“I know one thing’s for sure: I’m not to blame for the delays, so to assess a $4,000 penalty on my taxes because I couldn’t pay them is tough to take,” said the owner of L’Ami’s Garden Centre. “When the road to Lakeshore Drive was under construction, it hurt my business terribly.
“On several occasions, I asked the Mayor and the city if we could do anything about the taxes, and there wasn’t much of a response to that,” L’Ami continued. “I guess, finally, the Mayor and City Hall responded by giving me a $4,000 penalty for the taxes owed.”
L’Ami made a public presentation at Monday night’s council meeting to voice his opinion and express his dissatisfaction with the penalties. And, while he claims his past complaints fell on deaf ears, it appears as though his strong words got across on Monday night.
“I agree that he shouldn’t be paying the interest on the taxes, so I’ve asked staff to review it and make a determination,” said Mayor Al McDonald after Monday night’s council meeting. “I don’t support charging interest on the taxes during construction.”
The penalties are from 2013 and 2014, during which L’Ami’s Garden Centre was all but inaccessible thanks to a delayed construction project to the LaVase River bridge and sewer installation in the area.
A Facebook page has been created to show support for L'Ami. See it here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-Lamis-Tax-Penalty/311184929047607
His business is located in the heart of the $8 million construction project, which took the better part of two years. While the road reopened again this past May, the project was plagued with issues from the very beginning, with design flaws and conflicts between the construction company and city pushing the completion date multiple times.
“There was a hold up, but it wasn’t my fault; I didn’t work on the bridge,” said L’Ami. “That was the city and the contractor. That took the best two months away from me.”
When prompted by Coun. Mark King at Monday night’s meeting, L’Ami, who pays over $35,000 in taxes annually, said he was all-for the progress that was originally planned. But when it became clear that he wasn’t going to get answers from the city and his business was going to be drastically hit by consistent delays, that’s when he began taking issue.
“I’m not complaining about the time it should’ve taken; that’s progress,” L’Ami said sternly. “But if you’re seven or nine months late all the time, don’t pretend that everything is ok and then go and hit the guy with a $4,000 penalty.
“That’s not right.”
His face is a familiar one around City Hall, after attending council meetings numerous times throughout the construction period to push for answers on a completion date.
But now, he is battling to erase the penalties that he feels were unfairly assessed.
“I had a tough time then and I couldn’t pay my taxes for about a year,” said L’Ami. “I don’t think it’s fair at all. I don’t know if there was ever a case where they forgive penalties, but for the city to hurt me like this, that was already bad enough.”
While the Mayor did acknowledge he does not have the power to immediately address the tax penalties for L’Ami, he said the wheels are in motion to see what can be done.
“If it was within the contract from the construction, then there’s nothing I can do about that; that is progress,” L’Ami concluded.
“But when you’re seven and nine months late on two different items…I’m not to blame for those hiccups.”
