- Question re: why do I have to pay taxes if I don't have or use the same services that others in town have - paved roads to my house, sewer hookups, town water, irrigation etc. The answer was that they know this is the case for some property owners - even at the mayor's house. However, that is how the system is set up - taxes are determined by the value of your property times the mill rate, not on what services you have access to [by provincial law]. [The town is trying to set in motion long term planning to address these service provisioning issues - but can only proceed with these plans by collecting our taxes. Also, in theory, your property market value accounts for the value of the services you do or do not yet have - ie if you had all those services in place your assessment would be even higher and so likely would your tax bill. You benefited from that same property valuation when you bought your property in the first place without those services already in place - had they been there you would have had to pay much more for that item. We also pay for public services that all may not currently or ever use - eg the road you never actually drive on, the town hall you never visit, or the firetruck you hopefully never need.].
- Question re: why not get more grants was answered by the need to increase our mill rate - province does not give grants if mill rate is too low. Increasing mill rate to match Raymond and Cardston rates should allow us to get similar grants to what they received. Mr Hinman argued that this should not be the case but that it in fact would likely affect our ability to get grants approved.
- Question re: why does the town have brand new equipment was answered by explanation that it was cheaper for town to lease and sell back at a guaranteed buy back than to own and maintain old equipment - in fact last year they made money doing this.
- Question re: why did my property get assessed so high was answered by Mr Strate - if neighboring properties are sold, your property may be reassessed to match the new market information. Valuations on 19 such properties were adjusted this year. It was suggested that the tax burden for comparable properties in other communities would be very similiar - ie we are in line with our neighboring communities.
- Question re: why did we not get more advance notice was answered by request for more public participation in town council meetings. [This issue has been under discussion since Feb 2007 but I suspect few have bothered to come to any meetings. The mill rates were reported in the Westwind News weeks before the tax notices came out.]
- Question re: why not limit the increase to only 5% was answered by explanation that all these options were discussed and that that amount of increase would require reduction in desired services and would limit access to grant money in future years.
- Question re: how those on fixed incomes would be able to pay for increased taxes was answered by explanation of the mill rate process. They can only set a general rate and cannot pick and choose who will be affected. The residential rate shows a modest increase. The vacant land tax rates were increased - dramatically for some, which can be addressed by a request for reassessment. [Revenue Canada suffers from the same problem - they know how much you owe but have no way of knowing how you are going to pay the bill.]
- After that the questions became somewhat repetitious and I went home, satisfied that we are in good hands. Perhaps some of the more vocal questioners will gain a desire to step up to the other side of the mike next year and run for town office - even if it is a thankless and (monetarily) unrewarding job. RDD
Background: Town Council members are bracing for a spirited meeting on the topic of recent tax notice increases. An open house is planned at the Town Hall from 2pm to 8pm on Tuesday the 29th of May 2007. Disclaimer: My own property taxes only increased a measly 12% over last year so perhaps my view is anomalous. However, I think we should cut them some slack. Here is why.
- Everyone is paying more, including town council members and the mayor.
- Everyone is likely to complain about paying more, but very unlikely to run for office to make the hard decisions for us.
- We want and need upgraded sewer and water services and need to pay for them somehow. If not by property taxes, then how?
- If your taxes have dramatically increased, it is because you now own a very valuable home and/or piece of property. You could just sell it and move on out to .. somewhere cheaper.
Since property taxes are determined by property value times a set mill rate, and since both property values and the mill rate increased this year, I expect most of us are being asked to pay more taxes here in Magrath. As a residential property owner, my net mill rate increased from 14.317 to 15.079 in the past year. My property assessment increased 16% over last years value. Newer larger homes increased by somewhat more. In addition, there will be a new increased levy for vacant land - to encourage land barons to build something on their vast empty acres. Although the mill rate is set by town council, it is now in line with mill rates for our neighboring towns to our east and west. Town council does not determine our increasing property value - that is simply measured by a company under contract to the town. So, everybody is paying more this year, including all the town council and the mayor.
We don't pay town council nor the mayor near enough for all the abuse that is wont to be heaped upon them. How many of you are willing to take on all the commitments of acting for the town for the grand sum of about $250 per month? (I may be off by a dollar or so - sue or educate me). I think they get a full time head ache for minimum part time wage. In any case, these good men and women discussed the matter at length and finally decided to proceed with the current proposal. Isn't that what we elected them to do?
The cost of everything is going up. Why not taxes as well? Have you tryed to fill your gas tank lately? Were you thinking of purchasing a roof to go over your head lately? Sorry - you are now officially out of luck. Why do you suppose that the property values are spiking? It is because buyers and sellers are paying ridiculous amounts for house and home all over Alberta.
So, what do you think?
Question asked at the store: Why don't they get more grants instead of raising taxes? Hmmm. In other words why not get somebody else - anybody else to pay for services in our town. In actuality, however, grants have increased this year over last, and where does the grant money come from? From we the taxpayers. Of course, if taxpayers in some other town could pay for our stuff. Why not? But on the other hand, would you want to support improvements in somebody else's city with your hard earned taxes. I thought not.
This is an e-mail via http://magrath-ab.net/news from: Ulf Larsen < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
Hello Roger Davies
I'm writing in response to the article you wrote with regards to the increase in property taxes in Magrath. I lived in Milk River about 15 years ago, and I have followed the housing market for a number of years, both in the southern Alberta area and also here in Victoria BC where I now live. I agree with everything that you wrote in your article. Times have changed, just in the 15 years I have been here housing prices have tripled if not more. Property taxes have gone through the roof. There are plans for a number of sewage treatment plants to be built in Victoria in the next few years at a price of 1.4 billion dollars, property taxes are expected to go up by 500 dollars per year, in addition to that anyone who is on a septic tank needs to hook up to the main sewer at an additional $18.000 per house hold. So if it's is any relief to the people in Magrath, it is happening all over. p.s. We pay 1.37 per liter out here [for gasoline]. Thank you Ulf Larsen
Complaint overheard at the store: Why is our mill rate higher than Cardston and Raymond, while ours jumped 20-30 per cent? Hmm. My understanding was that we were just raising our mill rates to keep up with theirs. Also, I re-took a look at my tax notice this year vs last year. My 'Total Current Levies' mill rate last year was 14.317 and this year it is 15.079 .. that is only a 5.3 per cent increase (granted, for a standard residential property).
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