Town residents face a tax hike of nearly seven per cent.
The municipal residential portion of the tax rate is to climb by 0.5 mills, Barrhead Town Council has decided.
This means for each residential property there will be a municipal tax increase of $50 per $100,000 of assessment value.
Meanwhile, the municipal non-residential portion of the tax rate will go up 0.25 mills. This is a tax rise of just under two per cent.
For non-residential properties it equates to an increase of $25 per $100,000 of assessment value.
At its regular meeting on Monday, April 14, the Town council approved the increases with little comment.
In a written report to council, Chief Administrative Officer Martin Taylor said the hikes would boost funding for capital projects.
These include a new aquatic centre, 51 Avenue from 50 Street to 54 Street infrastructure revamp, additional water, sewer and storm sewer projects, Agrena and Curling Rink repairs and new Fire Services equipment.
The council adopted the 2014 operating budget with revenues of $11,476,372 and expenses of $11,466,423 for a surplus of $9,949.
It also approved the capital revenues and expenses budgets of $24,098,531 with increases to the municipal portion of property tax rates.
After the meeting, Barrhead Mayor Gerry St. Pierre said tax increases were needed for the Town to meet heavy costs for such things as utilities, insurance premiums on municipal properties and cost of living increases to employees.
“We are also hoping to improve standards in services, such as snow removal and maintenance of facilities,” he said.
St. Pierre said there had been no increase over the last three years, which meant Town reserves were being depleted.
“We need to start rebuilding those reserves,” he added.
St. Pierre said while the Town would save money by closing the Kinsmen Aquatic Centre, it also had to make severance payments.
In addition, it was losing user fees and faced the expense of decommissioning and demolishing the building.
“I think many people were expecting tax increases,” he said.
St. Pierre said Barrhead still compared favourably with other communities like Westlock.
In his report to council, Taylor said the 2014 residential taxable assessment for the Town rose from $352,804,320 to $358,583,720, while the 2014 non-residential taxable assessment increased from $102,358,190 to $102,911,760.
Meanwhile, the 2014 school requisition from the province is $1,277,589, a decrease of $4,145 over last year.
As the school requisition is divided among the total assessment, the school portion of the tax rate will decrease from 2.618 mills to 2.596 mills on residential properties. This would equate to a residential decrease of $2.20 for every $100,000 in assessment ($200,000 assessed house = $4.40).
For non-residential properties the school portion of the tax rate will decrease from 3.8442 mills to 3.8121 mills which would equate to a decrease of $3.21 for every $100,000 in assessment ($200,000 assessed property = $6.42 decrease).
The 2014 requisition from the Barrhead District Social Housing Association is $49,751, an increase from $49,451 in 2013. The increase of $300 will have a minimal affect on the overall tax notice.
Taylor said over the past three years the municipal portion of the tax rate had remained at the same level as in 2011.
“As assessments have remained fairly stable over the past few years the additional municipal taxes available has increased at a minimal level as well,” he said.
“Each year the increased costs for salaries, gas and power utilities, insurance, fuel, supplies etc. were funded in part by the increase in municipal assessments, user fees and charges and utilization of reserves.”
Taylor said the Municipal Sustainability Operational Grant was decreased by $118,704 in 2014. The operational funds available for capital projects have also gone down each year over the past three years.
The debenture payment of $321,810 for Beaver Brook Phase 3 was paid in full in 2013, said Taylor, so these funds were now available for additional capital project since 2014.
Taylor said municipal tax rises would be affected by any increases or decreases in the property assessment values.
“With the increase in the municipal portion of the tax rate, additional funds from the payment of the Beaver Brook debenture and overall changes in the budget, council was able to increase the amount of funding available for capital projects,” he added.
The operational funding for capital projects was $561,427 in 2013, said Taylor. For 2014, the figure was $983,579, an increase of $422,152.
The overall budget has a surplus of $9,949, said Taylor, which can be used to offset any reductions in assessment or any unplanned expenses.
