The City of Airdrie is set to see a 17 per cent increase in education property taxes, the highest among Albertan cities – but most of that hike will be offset by the city’s growth.
“The numbers aren’t as (bad) as the percentage,” Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown said. “It’s getting covered in our growth. The impact doesn’t read as high as the number.”
The total increase – up to nearly $26 million in Airdrie from almost $22 million a year ago – will fund student enrolment growth anticipated to increase 1.3 per cent this year. A total of $7.9 billion is earmarked to fund education throughout the province in 2016/17.
Revenue for education funding from property tax revenue is forecasted at $2.4 billion, according to government budget documents.
Alberta Education Minister David Eggen said the funding level for education should not be a surprise.
“We have used the same formula for education property taxes that has been used since 2013 – which is that 32 per cent of education funding comes from education property taxes,” he said in an email to the Airdrie City View. “While the amount paid by each municipality can fluctuate year to year due to routine assessment adjustments and population growth, the government has not made any changes to the way this amount is calculated.
“I am proud of our government’s commitment to fully fund education.”
Exact numbers as to how the education tax will hit the wallets of individual residents has yet to be determined. Brown said residents should look at their bill in detail to note what portion of their taxes are going to fund education.
“We don’t capture all the money and keep it here (to allocate), which would be a nicer way to do things. They reallocate,” he said. “I think not everyone looks at their tax bills, they just see what comes in through us.”
Airdrie’s increase is attributable to a “combination of factors, including increased assessment value, new construction and tax policy changes,” according to Tamara Magnan, director of communications for Alberta Education.
Increases were determined based on applying the provincial uniform tax rates to each municipality’s 2016 equalized assessments. Preliminary tax figures will be released in the next week or two, according to Brown.
According to Shannon Schindeler, team leader, Utility Administration, the 2016 tax rate bylaw will go to council May 16 and more information regarding the effect of both municipal and education tax will be presented that evening.
“The average homeowner (will not) experience a 17 per cent increase due to our continual growth and the ability to spread the burden of education taxes amongst more parcels,” she said in an email to the Airdrie City View.
