COLD LAKE – Residents in the City of Cold Lake won’t be seeing a tax increase this year.
Though they had initially expected a slight increase, council decided during their May 26 meeting to use the accumulated surplus from last year's budget to balance the books while maintaining an average zero per cent tax increase.
“Council is challenged with a difficult economy and an uncertain future because of the unprecedented situation due to COVID-19,” Mayor Craig Copeland said in a press release. “Using accumulated surplus again means that we will need additional revenue, or we will have to look at reducing services in the city, to balance the next budget in 2021. With the uncertainty surrounding the economy and the COVID-19 situation, however, council felt the best target was a zero per cent increase.”
The residential tax rate is 8.3149, the multi-family residential rate is set at 8.6439 mills, and the non-residential rate is 12.5435. Some property owners may notice a variation in the amount of taxes they owe, depending on the assessment of their property. Overall, assessments in Cold Lake dropped by about 3.4 per cent.
The city will generate around $20.6-million in revenue from properties within Cold Lake, which will be topped off with just over $254,000 from surplus to balance the $53.5-million 2020 operational budget.
This is the second year in a row the city has used surplus dollars to maintain a zero per cent tax increase, after using just over $555,000 to balance the budget in 2019.
“We still have work to do to finalize the distribution of municipal property taxes from ID 349, establish an Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework with the MD of Bonnyville, and receive fair payment from the federal government for its property within the city under its Payment in Lieu of Taxes program,” noted Copeland. “A lot is up in the air and council felt that it was best to hold our ground until we are on a more stable footing in terms of knowing what the future will have in store.”
Tax notices for city residents will be mailed by the end of May with a June 30 due date.
