Thousands of property owners have been caught up in the property assessment debacle, and the political fallout that may be yet to come.
Christene Sooley of Nauwigewauk, N.B., says her tax bill went up over $1,200 this year despite not doing any renovations.
She's come to her own conclusion as to why her bill nearly doubled.
"I think the government was looking at their coffers and thinking, ‘we need to do something fast, so let's fast-track this program and see what we can do with it,’" Sooley says.
More than 18,000 New Brunswickers challenged their property tax assessments. Many of them have since received a reduction in their bills.
"More people should have stepped up,” says Sooley. “I know people in this area that said, ‘oh well, we'll just have to deal with it.’ No. You don't just deal with it."
Political observer Tom Bateman says even though the auditor general found no direct link to Premier Gallant, his government still bears a measure of responsibility.
"The obvious question citizens can put to politicians is, well how come you didn't know what was going on in your department? Isn't that your job?" asks Bateman.
Christene Sooley hopes lessons have been learned.
"It put needless stress on a lot of people," she says.
But now she wonders whether the property tax mess that occurred this year could happen again in the years to come.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron.
