The 2015 tax rate bylaw was unanimously approved by Rocky View County (RVC) council at a meeting on April 28, setting the year’s tax rates at 3.3 per cent above the 2014 rate. The rate increase keeps residential property taxes among the lowest in Alberta, according to RVC, and non-residential rates “remain highly competitive.”
Grant Kaiser, manager of communications services with RVC, said residential property owners can expect to pay just more than $1.98 in property taxes for every $1,000 of land value, plus about $0.49 per $1,000 for an emergency services levy. According to Kaiser, business property owners will see just more than $5.95 in property taxes for every $1,000 of land value, with about $1.47 per $1,000 for the emergency services levy.
“From the beginning of the budget process, we’ve taken our tax rate down already from 4.32 (from estimates made in December 2014) to 3.3 per cent, so there has been a bit of a tax reduction,” said Barry Woods, manager of business services with RVC.
Farmland, Kaiser said, has a total tax and emergency services rate of about 0.71 per cent, as the Municipal Government Act requires the value of farmland be assessed using special rates set by the Province, not on the market value of the property.
“Although agricultural land makes up over 90 per cent of the county in area, it represents about one per cent of assessed property value because of these special farmland assessment rates,” Kaiser said.
Property owners were sent assessments earlier this year, providing an indication of what amount will be owed on the land. According to Kaiser, the total taxes paid on a property depends on both the tax rate and the property’s assessed value.
“A property that has gone down in value over the last year will see less than a 3.3 per cent increase over 2014, while a property that has risen in value will see a higher rise,” he said. “(RVC) will soon mail out tax notices to all property owners.”
The deadline to pay property taxes is June 30, and penalties will be applied to late payments.
According to Kaiser, notices will include taxes for school boards and the Rocky View Seniors Foundation – while these agencies are not part of RVC, Kaiser said the county is required to collect funds on their behalf.
“All we have to do is look at the economy out there – this is not the time to increase taxes, if we can hold the line, I think that’s absolutely critical,” said councillor Liz Breakey. “When and if the economy should improve, I certainly support lifecycle funding, contributing to tax reserves, and paying down the debt, and all these things that supposedly we stood for, but right now we can’t burden our taxpayers any more than they already are, or have been.”
First and second reading of the bylaw were carried 6-2, with reeve Margaret Bahcheli and councillor Jerry Arshinoff voting in opposition. However, due to the property tax payment deadline approaching, council unanimously approved third reading of the bylaw.
“If we want to lower the tax rate, really what we should be looking at is spending less money,” said Arshinoff. “My own opinion is we do tend to find a number of rather questionable projects and hire consultants for all sorts of things that have very little to do with the well-being of residents.”
