Morinville business owners called on town council last week to hold off on a proposed six-per-cent tax hike this year in light of the pandemic.
About 18 people tuned in to an online budget open house for businesses held by the Town of Morinville early Nov. 26. It was the first of two virtual open houses held as part of the town’s 2021 budget deliberations.
At the time, the budget was at second reading and featured a 1.5-per-cent residential tax hike. Under the town’s split mill rate, that translated into a 6.1 -per-cent non-residential increase, which would add about $433.84 more municipal tax to the average non-residential commercial tax bill.
Council made enough cuts to the budget at a Nov. 10 meeting to negate the need for a tax hike but had yet to change the budget’s tax rate as of the open house.
Town administrators and councillors answered written questions during the open house, many of which dealt with the town’s plans for non-residential taxes. In a video presentation, town corporate services director Shawna Jason showed how the town currently has the fourth highest residential tax rate and the fourth lowest non-residential rate in the Edmonton region.
Mayor Barry Turner said council wants to bring the town’s tax rates closer to the regional average over 10 years to make the tax burden more equitable and get it to an 80/20 residential/non-residential split.
“Non-residential ratepayers have enjoyed a rate that was significantly lower than other municipalities in the region and across the province,” he said, and council has to consider how sustainable those rates are for the town as a whole.
Coun. Stephen Dafoe noted council has already pushed its timeline to reach average tax rates out to 10 years from five and more recently voted to freeze stormwater rates to provide tax relief. High business taxes might discourage new business in Morinville, but high residential taxes would chase away new customers.
No hike, please, say business owners
Town council has been pretty supportive of local businesses during the pandemic through its economic development department, said Morinville & District Chamber of Commerce president Shaun Thompson (who was not at the open house). Still, he questioned council’s stance on bringing its tax rates to the regional average.
“I understand the principle of their long-term strategy, but in their long-term strategy, they didn’t have a pandemic,” Thompson said.
The pandemic shut down businesses for just over two months and brought in new expenses in the form of signage and protective gear, Thompson said. New restrictions introduced by the province Nov. 24 mean many now can only host 25 per cent of their regular customer load as they head into Christmas, which is typically their busiest time of year.
Guy Meunier, who owns Legendary Liquor and the two Shell gas stations in Morinville, said town council seemed to think business owners could bear a tax hike this year in spite of the pandemic.
“I don’t think they know how tough it is out here,” he said.
Meunier said many businesses have had to lay off staff during the pandemic. His liquor store is doing all right, but sales at the gas bar are way down, and he had to close his gas station’s restaurant as it was not viable under the Nov. 24 restrictions. He also criticized the communities the town used for its tax comparisons, and said the town should compare its rates to communities that have similar populations and traffic flows, not much bigger, busier ones like St. Albert.
Thompson said he hopes council would consider a zero-per-cent tax increase this year due to the pandemic.
Meunier agreed, saying council should put their tax rates and spending on hold until the economy recovers.
Council plans to hold a second online open house on the budget on Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. that will be broadcast at morinville.ca/budget. The open house is to follow a special council meeting on the budget scheduled for 3 p.m. that day.
Third reading of the budget is scheduled for Dec. 8. Questions on the budget should be sent to [email protected].
