Westlock County has officially given up hope of being paid by the province for a portion of the taxes it owes the county dating back five years.
County council voted 6-1 (Deputy Reeve Ray Marquette opposed) to approve a write-off of just over $29,000 in Grants in Place of Taxes (GIPOT) owed by the provincial government to the county for the Black Bear Grazing Reserve.
Up to 2019, the province paid GIPOT, the equivalent of property tax, for all properties owned within municipalities. In 2019 they decided to reduce GIPOT payment for most eligible properties by 25 per cent, then reduced it further to a total of 50 per cent from 2020 onward.
The tax owing equalled just over $5,600 for 2019, just under $10,600 for 2020 and just under $13,000 for 2021.
A staff report said the county’s auditors recommended to write off any GIPOT outstanding longer than two years to remove them as assets from the county’s balance sheet.
“We don’t know what [the province is] going to do in 2024,” said Finance Manager Faraja Amanda, adding that the province’s decision was designed to reduce provincial spending.
The write-off will have no impact on the county’s budget as it will be charged against the county’s allowance for bad debts.
Marquette asked what the benefit of writing it off was for the county. Amanda explained that leaving it on the books records it as an asset that the county expects to receive in the future.
“If we leave it on the ledger, it’s not going to get paid,” said Amanda.
Reeve Christine Wiese asked who collects the grazing fees charged to local farmers whose cattle use the land, but staff did not know.
