CARSTAIRS - Council has approved the 2024 tax bylaw, which calls for an unchanged residential mill rate of 5.50 compared with 2023.
The move came by way of motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The total residential tax levy is $4,366,678 on an assessment of $793,941,600. In 2023 the levy was $4,021,302 on an assessment of $731,145,900.
The non-residential rate is also unchanged from 2023, staying at 8.3133 in 2024. The total non-residential levy is $592,678.
Rick Blair is the town’s chief administrative officer.
“There has been some growth in our assessment, so finally it worked out that we could absorb some,” Blair told the Albertan. “We wanted to make sure people knew we were looking after their tax dollars, so we kept the rates as low as we could.
“We could make it work financially to keep the rates the same and still provide the level of service set forth from council.”
The amount to be raised through property taxes is divided by the total assessed value of all the property in the municipality and multiplied by 1,000 to decide the mill rate.
In 2024 the machinery and equipment mill rate is 8.313, unchanged from 2023. The Alberta School Foundation Fund (ASFF) residential requisition rate is 2.39397, up slightly from 2023 rate of 2.11442.
The non-residential ASFF rate is 3.58413, down slightly from 2023’s total of 3.74578.
The Mountain View Seniors' Housing mill rate is 0.36899, up from 0.3440 in 2023. The 2024 tax levy is $320,858, up from $277,413 last year.
The policing mill rate is 0.33625, down slightly from 0.35551 in 2023. The tax rate level is $292,394, up from $286,695 last year.
The overall assessment in town stands at $922,413,280, up from $856,826,230 in 2023.
The 2024 operating budge calls for total revenues of $14,898,718 and total expenses of $13,795,582.
Under the 2024 budget, the mayor will receive $28,212.48/year, the deputy mayor $24,554.80, and councillors $21,723.60. All those remuneration totals are the same as in 2023.
The complete 2024 tax rate bylaw is available for viewing on the town’s website.
In other news from the recent council meeting, council set the 2024 Town of Carstairs policing priorities, which are increased visibility and traffic safety, youth interaction and crime prevention. The priorities are the same as in 2023.
