Morinville residents will need to spend less time at the leisure centre this year to cover this year’s almost $200 increase to their tax and utility bills.
Morinville town council approved the 2022 property tax bylaw April 26.
Council stuck with its plans for a five-per-cent tax hike as outlined in the operating budget. Council held its residential/non-residential tax ratio at 1-to-1.1, so both assessment classes would see the same five-per-cent increase.
A report from financial services manager Travis Nosko said Morinville homeowners would see a 1.7-per-cent increase in their education taxes this year, while commercial property owners would see an 11.16-per-cent decrease. Homeland Housing rates for all properties fell 17.48 per cent due in part to higher property values.
Budget documents show the owner of an average $334,596 home in Morinville should expect to pay $2,667 in municipal taxes this year, or $127.03 more than last year. Add in the school tax (up $14.85), Homeland Housing tax (down $4.98), and utilities (up $52.92), and the average homeowner should expect to pay about $189.82 more in all taxes and fees — a bit less than a child’s annual membership to the Morinville Leisure Centre.
Town administration will send out property tax notices in the coming weeks.
Capital projects
Those tax dollars will help fund the Town’s $18.3-million operating and $3.5-million capital budgets, the latter of which was approved April 12.
The capital budget was largely unchanged from its initial draft save for the addition of the park pavilion project, which is to be funded entirely through a $750,000 Canada Community Revitalization Fund grant.
Council approved construction of a park pavilion in September 2020 using $285,000 from the province’s Municipal Stimulus Program. Pitched as a “destination building” at the Ray MacDonald Sports Complex, this house-like structure was to include a viewing area, washrooms, and a maintenance garage, and act as a community focal point. Council hit the brakes on the pavilion in 2021 after design flaws and geotechnical issues more than tripled its price.
The pavilion resurfaced in March after the Town received that aforementioned $750,000 grant. Administration projected the pavilion would cost $30,000 a year to run.
Council had previously expressed doubt this project would stay within budget, especially given the site’s potential geotechnical issues. Nonetheless, they approved it and the capital budget without debate in a 5-1 vote (Coun. Scott Richardson opposed, Coun. Maurice St. Denis absent) April 12.
In an interview, Town chief administrative officer Michelle Hay said council had made it clear this project should not proceed unless it met public expectations and was paid in full with this grant. Administration will return with detailed plans and costs for the project later this year, at which point council will decide if it should go ahead.
“It’s approved with an asterisk,” Hay said.
The 2022 capital budget includes $25,000 to replace the sound system at the Community Cultural Centre; $30,000 for two flagpoles for Indigenous flags at Town Hall; $100,000 to study potential intersection improvements to Grandin Drive and 100th Avenue and Cardiff Road and 100th Street; and about $1 million for roads and sidewalks.
Airport cash snubbed
Town council cancelled cash meant to help draw flights to the Edmonton International Airport shortly after it approved its tax rates April 26.
Council voted unanimously to cancel this year’s $47,278 contribution to Edmonton Global’s Regional Air Service Opportunity Fund during its April 26 meeting.
The Edmonton International Airport saw its passenger demand plummet some 95 per cent during the pandemic, council heard in June 2021. The investment group Edmonton Global asked Edmonton-area governments to create a three-year $15-million fund to lure international flights back and potentially create 7,000 jobs. Morinville was asked to contribute $122,750.
Morinville council agreed to chip in $28,194, with the rest of the money to come in two $47,278 chunks in 2022 and 2023 contingent on the airport meeting certain performance targets.
Administration told council that Edmonton Global had yet to provide much information on the fund’s results.
“We are not unique in the region for feeling we haven’t been able to draw the direct line from dollars spent to outcomes achieved,” Hay told council.
Hay said the fund is likely effective, but it is hard to say if it is effective because of Morinville’s contribution. A successful Edmonton airport makes for a more successful region, and can lead to jobs and economic growth here.
“It does require a mindset shift in that you won’t necessarily be able to see a tangible benefit,” she said.
This airport has brought more people to Morinville and is essential for businesses in Sturgeon County, said Mayor Simon Boersma. Still, he wants to see some specific returns on the Town’s contribution to this fund before putting more to it.
Coun. Ray White said this is not the time to put forward money to support another community, as council has asked residents to do more with less this year. Still, council backed his idea to consider chipping into this fund next year.
