OLDS — Town council has set this year’s tax rates. There is a zero per cent increase in town taxes, but because of factors beyond the town’s control, the results for taxpayers will be mixed.
The average residential taxpayer will see their overall taxes collected by the town fall by $11, but the average non-residential taxpayer, such as business or industry, will see their taxes rise by $651.
Finance director Sheena Linderman explained why things worked out that way.
It's complicated.
Linderman said assessment values in the town have increased for residential properties by 1.65 per cent and decreased for non-residential properties by 2.72 per cent.
“So while the municipal tax rates have remained the same, the fluctuations in assessments have caused an increase for the average residential property of approximately $30 for the municipal portion and a decrease for the average non-residential property of approximately $206,” she said.
However, that’s only for the municipal portion of property taxes.
The town also collects education taxes for the provincial government. And overall, Linderman said, those taxes have risen by 1.8 per cent.
The average non-residential property will see an increase to the education portion of their taxes of approximately $854. However, the average residential property owner will see their education property taxes fall by $48.
Also, taxes the town collects on behalf of Mountain View Seniors' Housing (MVSH) which have risen by 2.14 per cent. That works out to a hike of approximately $7 for the average residential property and $5 for the average non-residential property.
When projected taxes were brought to council earlier, several councillors pointed out that they don’t set education tax rates; those are determined by the province. The town only collects them on behalf of the government. The same goes for Mountain View Seniors' Housing.
Coun. Mary Anne Overwater reiterated that point in regard to the education tax on April 26.
“I think we as councillors and administration, we’ve done the best that we can with our tax portion, having a zero per cent tax increase. There’s really nothing we can do when the province downloads the educational tax to us.
“And we find that really hard for our residents as well, because at the end of the day, the residents look at the bottom line on their tax notice and they see that it’s gone up substantially and figure that it’s all coming to the Town of Olds.
“So I just want to make sure that our residents all understand that we have a zero per cent tax increase, yet we have no control over the educational taxes and/or any other requisitions we get. We just have to collect it and send it onwards to someone else.
“So when residents are looking at their tax notices, please make sure that you look at what actually comes to the Town of Olds, which I think is about what – about 67 cents or 68 cents on every dollar,” she said, adding the town does quite a bit for residents with that money.
Mayor Mike Muzychka agreed with that point.
“We collect it and we look like the bad guys,” he said in reference to the education tax. “But I mean, it’s something that happens every year, so thank you for pointing it out.”
Coun. Heather Ryan thanked Linderman and her staff for all their hard work putting this year’s budget together with a zero per cent municipal tax increase for the second year in a row.
Ryan represents the Town of Olds on the Mountain View Seniors' Housing board.
Ryan said MVSH did not increase its rate for Olds. She said the rate went up only because property assessment in the town rose and added that MVSH actually cut the amount of money it collected.
