WESTLOCK – Westlock County has passed a new bylaw that’ll see seasonal campgrounds receive a 25 per cent tax break.
Passed 6-1 council at its May 10 regular meeting, Bylaw 36-2022 divides Class 2 non-residential into three sub-classes including small business property/seasonal campgrounds. The change impacts less than 10 properties in the county that will now be taxed at 75 per cent in the non-residential property category.
Eligible property owners will need to fill out an application annually to get the break, with Vincent saying, “ … it shouldn’t be automatic and this gives us control over the situation ensuring that they’re still in business and still qualify under the parameters of the bylaw as a small business.” Specifically, bylaw states that the campground must have fewer than five full-time employees and operate for less than 185 days in a calendar year.
“For example, if KOA which is a large multi-nation corporation had a small campground in Westlock County we would not extend the benefits of this particular bylaw to them as they would not be identified as a small business,” Vincent explained. “The intent is to provide our local, small campground operators a little bit of relief and benefit.”
Vincent noted in his report that the nine affected properties are valued at $1,963,180 and would have generated at $65,315.39 in taxes, a figure which will drop to $48,986.54. Specifically, the mill rate drops from .0332702 to .02495265.
“You can see that the lowest amount (discount) would be $646 and the highest amount is $3,883.46, so all properties would be treated fairly based on their assessment and all receive a 25 per cent reduction in taxes,” said Vincent.
Deputy reeve Ray Marquette, who voted against the bylaw, questioned the fairness of the edict and said he been approached by the owner of an RV storage facility noting “his storage is empty all summer, so they’re just working oppositive of a campground.”
“I would suggest that if the individual would like to meet with myself, we can review the taxation under which he’s assessed and the parameters and if there’s a case to be made, we can bring back in front of council,” Vincent replied, noting later that the business model between campgrounds and storage facilities are very different.
Council first began talking about the bylaw at the April 19 governance and priorities committee meeting when administration provided a comparison of tax rates and tax levies from comparable municipal jurisdictions for seasonal campgrounds.
