Sturgeon County residents will pay about $26 more in taxes this year after county council approved its first tax hike since 2018.
Sturgeon County council approved the 2022 tax rate bylaw April 22 in a 6-1 vote (Coun. Matthew McLennan opposed).
Council wrote a 1.8-pe-cent tax hike into the 2022 budget based on property value estimates. Those values came in lower than expected, so the County was taking in $750,000 less revenue than predicted at budget time. A report to council said administration recommended sticking with the 1.8-per-cent hike and tracking this revenue shortfall to see if anything must be done about it.
The owner of a typical Sturgeon County home worth $400,000 will pay about $26 more in taxes this year under a 1.8-per-cent tax hike, County administration previously told The Gazette. Said owner would pay about $3.56 more on water and wastewater as well, assuming 22.5 cubic metres of water and 20.25 cubic metres of wastewater used per month.
The typical Sturgeon County homeowner should pay about $39 less for the education levy this year, as the province cranked it back by about 3.3 per cent, a report to council showed. That was offset by a 50.69-per-cent jump in the Homeland Housing requisition, which added about $13.61 to the average residential tax bill.
The average Sturgeon County homeowner should pay a net $4.17 more in municipal taxes, requisitions, and utilities this year, The Gazette estimates.
McLennan reiterated his opposition to the tax hike, saying this is another added cost to residents.
“I don’t believe raising taxes at this time is the right time to do it,” he said.
“I would say there’s probably no good time,” replied Mayor Alanna Hnatiw, who noted that the County had gone three years without a tax increase.
Tax and assessment notices will be ready to mail by May 19, with payments due June 30, said County finance and treasury manager Sabrina Duquette. Late payments will receive a six-per-cent penalty on July 1 and Aug. 1.
Residents have until July 26 to submit complaints about their tax assessments.
$8-million surplus
Council also learned last week they have about $8 million in change left over from 2021.
Council approved the 2021 audited financial statements on April 22.
The report showed that Sturgeon County finished 2021 with a roughly $8-million operating surplus due to higher-than-expected property values, investment returns, tax penalties, sand and gravel levies, and other factors.
Some $1.3 million of this surplus will go toward funding the 2022 budget, a report to council showed.
About $60,000 will fund the equipment and vehicles reserve (mainly for protective services), while $40,000 will support the Alternative Land Use Services grant program (which helps farmers implement nature-based solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss on their land). The remaining $6.6 million will go into the general operating reserve.
