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Stettler county council wants to do more to help property owners understand their tax bills and will try some new strategies next year. Resolutions related to this issue were passed at the July 10 regular meeting of council.
Reeve Larry Clarke asked that under the “council request for information” part of the agenda that councillors discuss assessment and taxation. He noted he and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Yvette Cassidy had some concerns.
Cassidy described anecdotes recently where County of Stettler property owners contacted the municipality concerned about “15 to 20 per cent tax increases,” where the county only recently approved a three per cent overall tax increase and a five per cent agriculture increase, she stated.
Cassidy stated property values have grown considerably across Alberta and many property owners are seeing the results of this on their 2024 County of Stettler tax bills; as assessments climbed, so have bills.
The CAO stated one factor is it seems more and more people are leaving cities and looking for what they see as more affordable property in rural areas which increases demand and drives prices up.
However, some people see the assessment increase on their tax bill and think the County of Stettler approved it. Cassidy pointed out over the past few years the cost of living across the country has increased.
“Everything’s gone up,” said the CAO, adding the county only has a few ways to raise funds, including property taxes, fees and utilities.
Regular readers of the ECA Review will remember many local councils, including but not limited to the Village of Alix, Town of Bashaw and Kneehill County, discussing in their open council meetings the issue of noticeable assessment increases and how this results in higher property tax bills.
Cassidy pointed out though that the municipality gives options to property owners, including a monthly payment plan for their tax bills. Such plans need to be “trued up” once a year though.
Reeve Clarke felt the County of Stettler could do more to communicate to ratepayers about how and why their tax bills look the way they do. He stated it’s good for councillors to know all this information but suggested more detailed information, an insert perhaps, be included in tax bills starting in 2025 essentially explaining everything on the bill.
Coun. Justin Stevens stated he’s heard some strange conspiracy theories related to County of Stettler property tax bills.
One example he cited was that some people believe that the County of Stettler has access to property owner’s personal income tax returns and base property tax bills on that.
Coun. Les Stulberg pointed out that often up to 50 per cent of a property owner’s tax bill can be Government of Alberta requisitions such as education tax that the County of Stettler has no control over. He pointed out the county is required by law to collect the requisition and forward it to Edmonton, nothing more.
Stulberg also suggested some property owner’s bills may not have increased at all except for provincial government requisitions.
Cassidy stated that County of Stettler staff are available to speak with property owners about their tax bills and payment options, plus a property owner always has the option to appeal their tax bill.
“It’s their democratic right,” she said, adding a third party board will hear the appeal.
Coun. Dave Grover acknowledged that the County of Stettler only has a few ways to raise funds and pointed out that if the municipality’s expenses increases, the increased funding has to come from somewhere. Grover also stated that perhaps some property owners don’t understand how assessment works.
Councillors eventually passed two resolutions: first, that when 2025 tax bills are mailed out they will include an insert explaining what’s involved and second that during budget talks, staff will report to council on any parts of the County of Stettler that appear to have spiked in assessment value.
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