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Majority of property and business owners will see slight increases or decreases to their tax bill

BARRHEAD - The majority of Town of Barrhead residents and business owners should see their 2022 tax bill remain static or even drop. And if they do see an increase, it won’t be because of the mill rate.

BARRHEAD - The majority of Town of Barrhead residents and business owners should see their 2022 tax bill remain static or even drop. And if they do see an increase, it won’t be because of the mill rate. 

On April 12, councillors unanimously approved the 2022 Final Operating and Capital budgets, setting the mill rate at 8.4775 and 14.0905 per cent for residential and non-residential, respectively. It is the third straight year with no increase in the mill rate, which is the amount of tax payable per dollar of the assessed value of a property calculated per $100,000 of assessed value.

Due to Alberta's Municipal Government Act (MGA), the mill rate is approved separately as part of the Property Tax Bylaw, despite it being an integral part of the budget process.

The bylaw also sets the 2022 tax payment deadline as June 30 and the penalty for late payment at 12 per cent. 

Corporate services director Jennifer Mantay said although the mill rate is not increasing, home and business owners may see a slight increase in their tax bills due to a change in assessed value.

She noted the value of taxable assessments was up $7,525,250, with most of it coming from residential properties with a $6,527,240 increase, while non-residential taxable assessments grew by $1,048,010.

"It did not go up by a lot. Most residential assessments went up by 0.7 per cent, non-residential went up by 0.5 per cent," Mantey said, adding the increased assessment values will net the municipality about $70,000 in added revenue.

Mantey added that 90 per cent of the close to 1,800 residential property owners' tax bills remain relatively unchanged, with about 500 seeing a slight decrease of anywhere from $1 to $300, while about 1,100 tax rolls are remaining static or increasing anywhere from $1 to $100.

"The (11 properties) that went up a lot (more than $300) were mainly multi-residential or properties with extremely high assessments (of $1 million or more)," she said.

On the non-residential side, 83 per cent of the 289 tax rolls will have a slight increase or decrease of less than $100. Nineteen properties with assessed values of more than $1 million will see an increase of $400 or more.

Mantey added the school requisition the town collects on behalf of the province did not have much of an impact on tax bills, as it only saw a minimal increase of about $6,000, equating to an 84-cent decrease for residential properties and $8.60 for non-residential per $100,000 of assessed value.

The Barrhead Social Housing Association requisition increased by about $40,000, going from $20,891 to $61,295, with the net result being an $8.20 increase per tax roll per $100,000 of assessed value.

The town will also collect $530 for the province for their designated industrial properties (electricity, telecommunications, TV, cable and natural gas).

Residents will see a 90-cent decrease per $100,000 per assessed value for the Barrhead Regional Aquatics Centre debenture.

2022 operating and capital budgets

The operating budget predicts revenue of $14,608,950 and expenses of $14,598,060, plus the amortization expense budget of $1,955,00 for a surplus of $10,890.

The capital budget is pegged at $7,612,223.

On the operating revenue side, the property taxes and linear assessment is the largest revenue source, estimated at $4,884,470 and making up 33.5 per cent of the budget. Sales and user charges are expected to bring in another $4,199,220. Franchise fees, licences and permits combined account for $1,520,570, with government contributions and grants will bring in another $1,975,860, and the swimming pool debenture will bring in an estimated $290,550. The town will also draw $216,830 from its reserves.

For operating expenditures, Mantey noted that utilities, including water, garbage, recycling and sewer, account for the largest outlay of $3,441,340 followed by public services, including roads and storm sewers, recreation and protective services (police, fire, bylaw and safety) at $2,890,530 and 1,717,330, respectively.

Other expenditures include school, social housing and linear assessment at $1,561,700, administration at $1,008,940, contributions towards capital projects at $862,430 and development, communications, tourism and twinning at $464,490. Rounding out the bottom categories are the contribution to Barrhead and District Family Support Services at $459,020, council expenses at $268,400, and contributions to the library and airport at $133,760.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com

 


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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