It is that time of year again, budget and taxes. I am going to give you an overview of the way Taxes work in Rocky View County. First, at the time of writing this it looks like there will probably be a 1% increase in Taxes, I’m not convinced it is necessary but I understand the wisdom. The Consumer Price Index has risen in Alberta by 2% so that tells us that most goods and services will cost 2% more. There are those who believe that a net zero tax increase would be equal to the CPI, they may be right. At the County, every expenditure is Budgeted and Council approves the Budget on an annual basis, it is posted on the website www.rockyview.ca every year if you want to have a look at it. Each Department calculates what they will need to spend in the upcoming year and they present it to Council, we look at it, ask any questions for clarification, have the ability to change it or adjust it, then it is approved. This year in order to provide the services to residents it requires 1% more taxes than last year, it is that simple.
A combination of the assessment and the Mill Rate (amount per thousand of value) is how your Taxes are calculated. Last year we had a Mill Rate of slightly under 2.5, with the 1% it will be almost exactly 2.5. In Langdon there is an additional fund which is about $50 per household per year that raises $80,000 for Recreation. To calculate how much tax you pay to the County you take your assessed value and multiply it by the mill rate, for example if your Home is worth $500,000, your County Taxes are 500×2.5 or $1,250, that is what they receive from you. The County also collects school taxes for the Province; in general the amount is very similar to the County Taxes. In some other jurisdictions, the School Taxes are 1/3 of the amount of the Municipal taxes but it is not because their School Taxes are lower, it is a result of their Property taxes being much higher. You can compare Rocky View Tax Rates with any jurisdiction in Alberta by going to the Alberta Municipal Affairs website and searching Municipal Profiles, ours are among the lowest.
Soon the County will be sending out the Assessments that will be used to calculate your taxes, if you disagree with the amount they are assessing your property at, you can ask them to explain and reconsider the assessed value. If you want to lodge a formal complaint that causes a full review, there is a small fee. The assessors do have a period of time where they meet with Residents without charge if there is something way out. In my last 5 years being on Council I have seen very few complaints, I think the assessment review Board had no applications last year.
The most important Date is June 30, that is the day taxes are due, if you don’t pay on time for any reason, you will be assessed a 12% penalty, you never need to pay that if you are on time. The other method many people use is the monthly plan, it is very popular and incredibly easy to set up, it levels the tax payments to a monthly charge and costs nothing extra, still the same amount but it spreads the pain over 12 months. I hope that covers it, call anytime if you need more explanation.
Rolly Ashdown,
Division 4 Councillor
Rocky View County
403-999-2722 cell or 403-936-0777 home, rashdown@rockyview.ca.
