ATHABASCA — Athabasca town councillors are seeking clarity on the assessment process after a jump in 2024 property values left residents with questions and councillors’ communication lines busy.
Coun. Jon LeMessurier brought forward a discussion on the recent property tax assessments as a last-minute addition to council’s June 3 meeting, advocating for the item to be discussed in open session.
“I’m personally concerned with both the residential and commercial property tax assessment increases that we’re continuing to receive emails and hear about in the community,” said LeMessurier.
“I’m scared that we’re going to be deterring developers, present and future, from our community, and potential residents on the residential side of things. I think we need to start the conversation and ask for more information.”
Councillors voted 7-0 to invite Travis Horne of the Municipal Assessment Services Group Inc. to the next available meeting to provide more information on the assessment process.
“I think it would help to talk to the assessor for all of us to understand,” said Mayor Rob Balay. “I don’t know what to tell (people) — I’ve had several, several phone calls, and it’s difficult. I say, ‘these are your options,’ but that’s really not acceptable to the people on the other end of the line. They want more than that.”
The numbers
On April 16, councillors approved the 2025 tax rate bylaw with a $32 million dollar jump in assessment, including a nearly $14.5 million increase in residential and a $17.7 million hike in non-residential values.
To make up the $6.26 million in tax revenue in the 2025 budget, the mill rate for residential properties went from 9.21 in 2024 to 9.39 in 2025, and the non-residential rate was set at 18.32 this year, up from 17.96 last year.
Assessment increases don’t automatically mean higher taxes; owing amounts for property tax are calculated by multiplying a property’s assessed value by the municipal mill rate and dividing by 1,000. But thanks to increased assessment values and higher mill rates, many residents of Athabasca did see spikes on their tax bills this year.
“Some of the information we’re getting, like a 140 per cent market adjustment in the last year — I think we all know, it’s just common sense, that we don’t have a boom going on in our town right now, we wish for that.”
“I’m also hearing from different realtors in the community and they’re concerned with how much property taxes are going up in both commercial and residential,” added LeMessurier.
He cited council’s 2024 amendment to the 2022-2032 strategic plan, which added a commitment to growing the community’s population and housing capacity to the leadership goals section.
“This is really, in my opinion, going to be impacting that. Everybody understands that with cost of living going up, they expect a fair — I’ll use the term fair — increase each year, but some of these are not fair at all, and detrimental for the continued momentum we were striving for.”
“I feel like I need to learn more about the process, somewhere there’s a huge flaw in what’s happened here,” LeMessurier added, but Balay didn’t rule out the possibility that Athabasca ratepayers had enjoyed a break in previous years thanks to lower-than-market assessments.
Appeal and alternative options
The town’s website notes ratepayers have 60 days to file complaints after receiving their assessment notices, and contains links to more information on complaints as well as the complaint form, which is also available for pickup at the Town Office.
2025 notices were put in the mail on May 2, meaning all official complaints must be filed by before July. A fee of $50 per parcel for residential and $200 per parcel for non-residential properties apply to official complaints, and will be refundable for successful appeals.
Before submitting an official complaint, CAO Rachel Ramey noted taxpayers can call Horne directly to ask for changes and pursue the paid option if unsuccessful.
But with the June 30 deadline for payments approaching, she reminded residents any amounts left owing by July 1 will be subject to late penalties, regardless of intent to file or current status of appeal or complaint.
Upon a successful appeal after payment, ratepayers may be given credit for any amount overpayed. For more information on the appeal process and contact information for the Municipal Assessment Services Group, visit the Town’s webpage on property taxes.
Coun. Sara Graling said residents who haven’t heard back from the assessor and feel strongly about needing a change can contact the Alberta Ombudsman to file a complaint, and also encouraged taxpayers and fellow councillors to have patience with the necessary procedures.
“It’s important that we do reinforce the steps that need to be taken, as opposed to, ‘We don’t like it, so we don’t have to follow the appropriate guidelines,’” said Graling. “It’s really critical that we continue to ensure our ratepayers understand that there is a process that has to be completed.”
