About the Assessment and Planning Appeal Tribunal

The APAT is a decision-making body given the responsibility of hearing appeals, analyzing the information presented and providing rulings on:

1. property tax assessments (the market value assigned to individual properties);
2. land use and planning decisions (decisions made concerning land development); and
3. heritage conservation decisions (heritage property conservation rulings made by a heritage board or heritage officer).

The Board consists of:

• a  Chair,
  
• three Vice-Chairs, and
  
• two appointed members  and up to two alternate members, from each of the five regions across the Province.

The Chair and Vice-Chairs must be barristers and solicitors of at least five years good standing with the Law Society of New Brunswick. The Chair may be appointed to the Tribunal for a term not exceeding 10 years and any other member of the Tribunal may be appointed for a term not exceeding seven years; however, all may be reappointed. All appointments to the Tribunal are made by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

Members of the Tribunal come together to form panels in various regions of the Province and conduct scheduled hearings. In total, five regional Tribunal panels convene across New Brunswick to hear appeals made by individuals or groups who are unsatisfied with a decision made in relation to their property, heritage conservation areas or development.

An appeal hearing panel is comprised of a Chair and up to two other members from the region of the appeal. The Chair may designate an alternate member or a member from another region. Hearings are scheduled by the Chair and take place as and where required. During a hearing, it is the panel's responsibility to consider all evidence provided. The panel takes into consideration the facts presented at the hearing and provides a written decision.

It is important to note that the Tribunal does not act on the behalf of Government but is linked to the Department of Environment and Local Government for administration purposes only, such as staffing and finance management. The Minister of Local Government does not have decision-making powers in relation to appeals made to the Tribunal, and civil servants are not permitted to serve on the Tribunal.