Red Deer County council passed the first reading of the 2023 Tax Rate Bylaw at its meeting on Tuesday.
The new tax rate for community services will increase to 0.9423 from 0.65, and protective services will increase to 0.7751 from 0.7. Increasing these rates decreases the municipal rate accordingly.
This bylaw allows the county to collect $49.4 million in taxation to achieve its budgeted work plans for 2023. Administration is presenting a 0.93 mill rate increase to farmland property, and a one per cent increase to residential in 2023. Farmland is assessed based on prescribed rates from municipal affairs.
Dave Dittrick, director of corporate services explained “that in 1991, farmland properties contributed over 20 per cent of municipal taxes. And now in 2023, the taxes collected amount to three per cent, which does not cover the cost of providing agricultural services, let alone services such as gravelling and maintaining our roads.”
Except for the provincial police levy, all other requisition rates are being reduced or staying the same.
The province requires municipalities to levy education property taxes on their behalf based on county assessment values. Those rates have been reduced due to increases in the county’s assessment and a slight reduction in the total requisition dollar amount.
“Their actual requisition will decrease this year by $284,557,” the county explained in a media release.
Rates will decrease as follows (2022 numbers in brackets): residential and farmland – 2.4248 (2.6285); and non residential – 3.6333 (3.8809). The seniors housing levy reflects the requisition that the county is charged from the Parkland Seniors Housing Foundation. Based on this requisition, administration is recommending setting the seniors housing levy rate at 0.0182 (0.0194).
Provincial requirements for a Designated Industrial Property levy reflect the cost to administer the province’s program to centralize all industrial assessment, the county stated. The legislated DIP requisition for 2023 is 0.0746 (0.0766).
Taxes are due on June 30. A six per cent penalty will be applied to any unpaid balance on July 1, Nov. 1, and March 1, 2024. For those currently enrolled in the county’s Monthly Tax Instalment Plan, no additional payment is required at this time
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