Rocky View County approves tax freeze for 2021

In December, Rocky View County Council projected a 0.5 per cent tax hike for its commercial and residential property owners.

After budget adjustments, it's now been able to change that to a zero.

However, County property owners will be facing increases in requisitions paid for education, the Rocky View Foundation, and the Designated Industrial Property (DIP). None of these are controlled by the municipal county.

The county's assessment grew by $1,177,400 since the budget was approved in December 2020, allowing for the reduction. After making net expense and revenue adjustments, there was an additional $937,900 available for 2021. Of that, $353,000 was applied to reach a zero per cent increase. The other $585,900 has been transferred into the county's tax stabilization reserve.

Despite a rate freeze, county officials point out property taxes owing may still go up or down, depending on whether there is an increase or decrease to the property’s most recent assessed value.

The county has a $216 million operating budget plus nearly $53.4 million in capital projects. Approximately $74.1 million, or less than half, is funded through municipal property taxes.

RVC council is expected to approve the 2021 tax rate at an upcoming meeting, after which property tax notices will be issued.

In a year in which revenue was forecasted to drop 10.6 per cent, the county administration went to work to find ways to lessen the impact.

All Alberta counties are facing higher policing costs and less revenue from oil and gas companies because of measures taken by the provincial government.

Concerned over the impact of COVID-19 and the downturn in the economy, RVC reduced municipal taxes by three per cent in 2020.