Okotoks homeowners will see higher property tax bills this year after the Town announced this week that it needs to collect more on behalf of the provincial government.
During a council meeting on April 22, Mayor Tanya Thorn said property tax bills will be higher than expected when they are sent to homeowners this spring.
According to the Town, the average Okotoks homeowner will see about $130 added to the provincial requisition portion of their tax bill.
In total, nearly $1.7 million more needs to be collected from Okotoks taxpayers, and almost all the increase is for the education levy that is sent to the Province.
“Ultimately, it means our community is paying more for education this year than they did last year, by the tune of $1.6 million and change,” Thorn said.
The increase is attributed to the Government of Alberta keeping its tax rate the same despite an increase in assessed property values, the Town said.
The education requisition has increased 11 per cent to about $16.7 million, compared to $15.1 million that was collected by the Town last year.
Average property assessments increased by about 20 per cent in Okotoks, according to the Town, but the Province uses an equalization formula to balance the education tax requisition.
During the council meeting, Okotoks CFO Ralph Ettenhauer said tax rates are typically reduced to compensate for increased assessed value.
“But the Province chose to just keep the rates the same and apply it to the higher assessment values,” Ettenhauer said.
The Government of Alberta says it expects over $200 million in extra revenue from properties across the province from the education levy this year.
“While rates will be frozen, strong growth in property values and increased development mean that education property tax revenue is expected to grow by $229 million in 2024-25,” the Province stated.
The municipal portion of the tax bill will remain unchanged from the 4.6 per cent increase that was set by council last year, the Town said.
It amounts to about $124 more on the municipal portion of the property tax bill for the average Okotoks homeowner.
On top of the education increase, a requisition for Westwinds Communities increased by three per cent from $650,000 to $671,000 and a requisition from Alberta Designated Industrial Property climbed by five per cent to $2,785.
The Town said it does not set or control the requisitions. Reasons for the increase are attributed to inflation, the carbon tax and hikes in utilities and insurance.
