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Council approves 2019 tax rate

TaxRate
Rocky View County council approved the 2019 tax rate, using unallocated funds to reduce this year's tax increase from three to two per cent. File Photo/Rocky View Publishing

Rocky View County (RVC) council approved the 2019 Tax Rate Bylaw at a regular meeting April 24, voting to reduce a proposed property tax increase from three to two per cent.

The reduction was possible due to the finalization of the County’s 2019 budget – approved unanimously by council during the same meeting – which included an unallocated excess of $682,800, according to Financial Services Manager Barry Woods. Council opted to put the excess amount toward reducing the tax increase by one per cent, though Reeve Greg Boehlke suggested eliminating the increase altogether.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Coun. Crystal Kissel said. “We know people are struggling and we’ve seen taxes go up consistently through the years, so I would be very much in support of zero.”

Kissel was one of few to indicate support of the idea, however. Couns. Kevin Hanson, Jerry Gautreau and Kim McKylor all agreed with approving a slight reduction, but couldn’t get on board with a zero per cent increase.

“We get into a zero-rate-increase situation, and over time, that’s what our residents expect,” McKylor said. “When you do have to then adjust because something happens that you didn’t anticipate, you actually have to raise taxes more because you haven’t increased the stabilization on which to draw.”

Deputy Reeve Al Schule proposed a compromise of reducing the tax rate increase to one per cent, but his motion failed 5-4 with opposition from Couns. Hanson, Gautreau, McKylor, Samanntha Wright and Mark Kamachi. Council then unanimously approved the two per cent increase option.

With the reduced increase, homeowners with an average property value of $958,000 will see a $25.58 increase in property taxes this year, according to an RVC press release.

“Homeowners with a lower assessed value on their property will see a smaller increase, while homeowners with a higher assessed value will see a larger increase,” the release stated. “The total amount of taxes owed is also influenced by the year-over-year change in a property’s assessed value.”

Additionally, Woods said, the tax rate bylaw includes a $2.8-million tax increase related to education, a $9,000 increase related to the Rocky View Foundation and a $84,800 increase related to designated industrial properties. According to the press release, “both of these tax rates are set by each respective entity and billed through local property taxes.”

“These amounts are external requisitions, in that RVC collects these funds through the property tax system and forwards these amounts to the requisitioning bodies,” the release stated.

Council also unanimously approved the 2019 Langdon Special Tax Rate Bylaw, which is applied to all taxable properties and will generate $88,600 for the hamlet’s recreation services. Schule, while supportive of the motion, indicated a desire to discuss raising the special tax rate next year.

“The demands we’re having and the requests we’re having is really outdoing what we’re collecting,” he said.

Property tax notices will be mailed out mid-May, according to the press release, and payments are due June 30.



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