After five years of remaining stagnant, the City of Cold Lake municipal tax rate will be increasing by an average of 1.76 per cent.
On Tuesday, May 23, Cold Lake city council passed third reading of the tax rate bylaw. The increase was made to generate the taxation revenue necessary to meet the approved 2017 operating budget of nearly $60 million.
“This year, we're increasing property taxes on average 1.76 per cent. Depending on your assessment some people in Cold Lake might actually see less of a tax increase than the 1.76 (per cent),” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “This is about as good as it can get… We look at the last five years and we have barely raised the bar on taxes.”
The 2017 operating budget includes transferring about $18.5 million into capital, and incorporated $25.3 million from the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range ID 349 taxation, and the allowance of $1.5 million for the payment in leu of taxes dispute.
Tax rates are dependent on the assessed value of a property. This year's assessment was based on market values from July 2016.
Based on property assessments, some residents may not see a tax increase at all, explained Linda Mortenson, general manager of community services for the city.
On average, residential household taxes will increase by 1.76 per cent, with multi-family residential properties increasing about 1.74. Non-residential properties will see an increase of about 1.77 per cent.
This puts the city's residential tax rate at about 6.76, the multi-family residential at 7.51, and non-residential at 11.69.
The increase is meant to help generate the $19.5 million needed from taxation to balance the approved operating budget.
Since last year, the city's overall assessment has decreased by $185 million. However, there has been a growth of about $39 million, with $23 million coming out of residential assessments.
The city's 2017 assessment for residential family properties saw a growth of 1.23 per cent, putting their assessment value at $1.76 billion.
Multi-family residential properties saw a decrease of about .02 per cent. This year, they were assessed at $75.6 million.
With a 2.65 per cent growth, non-residential properties came in at $594 million.
“As your community grows, more houses and more businesses get built, and that helps increase the tax roll… Growth has stalled. We're going on our third year now where housing starts are really low. It starts to catch up to you if you don't have that growth in your community,” explained Copeland. “It's not healthy for your taxes if your community is not growing.”
The increase doesn't include the school requisition, which has dropped 6.47 per cent since last year. This year, the requisition has come in at $7.3 million. The money is collected by the City of Cold Lake for the province.
Last year, the school requisition was $7.8 million. It decreased this year due to the city's equalized assessment dropping more than average. “You're going to see the school board portion bringing your taxes down, with the municipal portion going up,” Mortenson said at the May 16 corporate priorities meeting.
The city will also collect the $202,863 on behalf of the Lakeland Lodge and Housing requisition. This area saw an increase of 34.3 per cent.
“For the last four or five years we have basically held the line on taxes. Cold Lake at one time was one of the highest taxed municipalities in the province, and so, ID 349 has been a blessing. It's been a real game changer for the city. It's providing other tax money into the city with the industrial taxes coming into an urban centre, which is unique in Alberta,” said Copeland.
