A steep rise in requests for tax assessment information has prompted the City of Red Deer to look at implementing a cost-recovery fee.
Because of changes in the Municipal Act, many more people are now seeking information from the city about how their commercial tax assessment was prepared. Section 300 of the MGA allows an assessed person access to a summary of the assessment of any property in the municipality.
Corporate Services director Lisa Perkins told city council that local assessment information requests for non-residential properties jumped from 32 to 214 from 2016 to 2017 — resulting in 800 hours of staff effort.
Perkins believes it’s time for Red Deer to impose a fee for looking up this kind of information.
She said many other municipalities have already implemented this kind of cost-recovery fee, including Edmonton, Calgary, Grande Prairie, Airdrie, St. Albert, Medicine Hat and the County of Red Deer.
On Monday, City council gave first reading to a bylaw that will charge from $40 (for residential information) to $125 (for non-residential information) for legislated property assessment information requests.
It will go to a public hearing on Oct. 1
If the fee is adopted, Perkins said it could spur more people to first check out the free tax assessment information and comparison maps available online.
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