The Newsy Neighbour Magazine
June Issue #116
Article Provided By: Rolly Ashdown
It's tax time again and you should have received your tax
bill by now. There are a few changes on it but nothing really earth-shattering.
Council sets the tax rate in the early spring every year, depending on the
budget that is approved to run the County for the year. The rate is called a
mill rate and it is 1/1000 of the value of the property, for example if your
house is worth $500,000 and the mill rate is 1, then the taxes would be $500
for the year. Mill Rates in the Province for places like Langdon are typically
in the 5 to 10 range; ours is very low in comparison, right now in the 2.5
range. In Rocky View County, mostly due to our location and somewhat due to
good planning and Infrastructure Investment, we have a substantial Commercial
Tax Base. That is important because Commercial entities pay 3 times the tax
rate of residents; this is what makes it possible for our favourable mill rate.
It costs in the neighbourhood of $150 million to run Rocky
View County every year, spending is determined by a budget that is approved
every year by Council. Unlike other forms of Government, the County cannot run
a deficit or spend more that the budgeted amount. Budgets can be adjusted
during the year with approval but Administration cannot just spend more without
prior approval. The amount raised by Residential Taxes is about $40 million,
Commercial also brings in about $40 million, our Residential to Commercial
ratio, money wise is 50/50 right now, a very healthy split. The balance of the
money comes in from user fees (Development Permits, Building Permits, Levies
etc.) and grants from the Province and the Feds. It is a goal to recover
expenses for services wherever possible, it is also important to know that the
County is not a Business and doesn't profit from fees charged.
We have a rec Levy as well on the tax bill, which is .1
of a mill rate or $1 for each $10,000 in value of your property, again using
the example of a $500,000 home the amount would be $50. This is placed in a
fund to be used exclusively in Langdon for Recreation purposes and is spent
through applications that go to Council for approval from a recommendation of
the Recreation Department. This Levy used to raise around $80 thousand and the mill
rate changed annually, I am trying to encourage it to become a fixed rate of .1
so that as Langdon grows, so does the fund. Recreation is important and lacking
in our growing community.
The other amount that is collected every year is the
Education Tax. This is a flow through to the Provincial Government and the only
part the County has to do with it is collect and then pay to the Province. It
amounts to about half of your tax bill and goes to the Provincial funds to keep
the Schools running and educate the kids.
Hope that clarifies tax rates a bit. I often get asked,
"Where do my taxes go?" That requires quite a longer explanation. Maybe
I'll cover some of that next month. Have a nice summer!
Rolly Ashdown
Councillor Rocky View County
Division 4
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