BARRHEAD - Most Town of Barrhead residential property owners saw their assessment increase by up to six per cent.
More specifically, 72.71 per cent of the 1,352 residential properties’ asessments went up, while a relatively small 1.26 per cent saw their 2023 assessments increase by over 20 per cent.
These were some of the statistics Tanmar Consulting's Mike Krim told councillors at the May 28 council meeting.
Krim and his company have been the municipality's assessor for several years.
He said that over the last 10 years, residential property owners have seen relatively little movement in their assessments, noting that in 2015, the average single-family dwelling assessment was $215,500.
"Then if floated around that $220,000 area for a few years [from 2016 to 2019], then dropping for two years in 2020 and 2021 [to $219,400 and $214,700, respectively] before rebounding," Krim said.
In 2022 and 2023, the average assessment climbed to $218,600 and $219,800 before topping out at $229,000 this tax year.
Krim said residential property assessments increased by 3.2 per cent on average, but the extent of the increase depended on the town where the property was located.
For instance, he said that the increase in residential properties west of Barrhead's downtown core was negligible, while the properties in the top northeast corner increased the most, at an average of 5.7 per cent.
"You might have questions about why one neighbourhood increased more than another. We follow the market sales; those things usually average out over time," he said. "It can also go in trends, as some years people are more interested into getting into bungalows, and then two-story homes or condos, because demographics and the needs and wants of a community can change."
Other residential property classes also saw increases. According to Tanmar Consulting, apartment assessment values increased by 4.3 per cent, fourplexes by 3.9 per cent, and duplexes by 4.4 per cent.
Condominium values also increased by three per cent, row condos by 2.9 per cent, and apartment-style condos and the condos in Brookside Village's assessments increased by 5.1 per cent.
Krim said the non-residential side did not fare as well, noting the average assessment saw a slight decrease, with the commercial property average dropping 2.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent for industrial properties.
He added that the municipality also saw some assessment growth in 2023, i.e., adding new properties. One new single-family dwelling was constructed on the residential side, and five new manufactured homes came to town.
"There was also growth due to renovations," Krim said.
On the commercial side, he noted the construction of the new Home Hardware, the multi-million improvements made by Nutrien Ag Solutions and the start of the construction of McDonald's.
Krim also attempted to address some misconceptions people have about the assessment process.
He said many people believe assessment and property tax are the same process.
"Although one impacts the other, assessment and taxation are two distinct and independent processes," Krim said.
He explained that assessment assigns a dollar value to a property for taxation. The value can be either market value or regulated value.
On the other hand, Krim explained, taxation applies a rate to an assessment value to determine the property taxes payable. Taxation is a municipality's primary source of revenue.
Alberta Municipal Affairs governs the provision of all legislation regarding property assessment and taxation through the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
"They also provide the oversight of the assessment through yearly audits," he said. "To ensure we follow the rules and regulations and that there is fairness and equity in the assessments."
Coun. Rod Klumph asked about the assessment of farmland.
Earlier in his presentation, Krim said the province assesses farmland using regulated procedure standard and is assessed by the productivity value.
"In the town, there are some lands held by people, and they would like it to be classified as farmland, even though it is small, perhaps only 20 or 30 acres," he said, adding they are holding the land for other than agricultural purposes. The property Klumph is referring to is zoned C2 Commercial. "They rent it out to a farmer to hay and things of that sort."
"If it is used for farming, agricultural production and the sale of agricultural products, it is first farmland assessment," Krim said.
Klumph also asked what, if any, impact having one or multiple sea cans would make on a residential assessment.
Krim wasn't sure, but he believed that in most cases, they would not, comparing them to a shed.
"Most of the time, they are assessable because they don't add much value to a property," he said. "An eight by 10-foot shed would only add $1,000 to the property value, but if you have a 12 by 16-foot shed, [an assessor will look at it] as adding value to a property.
In the same vein, Krim said, if a property owner had a 20-foot sea can, it could add anywhere from $3,500 to $4,500.
"If it is there permanently, it should be assessed," he said.
Coun. Dausen Kluin asked about the questionnaires the assessor sends to property owners.
Krim said that although every property assessment is adjusted annually through market forces, they only visually inspect roughly 20 per cent of residential properties annually.
As part of that process, they also ask those residents for information about the property, most notably, if they had made any improvements.
"A couple of years ago, I filled out one of those questionnaires," Kluin said. "After I did that, my property taxes went up a couple hundred. A few days ago, a gentleman received one this year and filled it out, and his property taxes increased significantly. After someone fills out one of the questionnaires, do their taxes always go up? Do they ever go down?"
Krim said the assessment is only part of the equation; the municipal mill rate also affects the amount of property tax people pay.
"There will be several properties that we adjust, adding information we did not have," he said. "If they've renovated and added things to increase its value, then yes, we will adjust that assessment."
