By rdnewsNOW staff

Clearwater County holds line on municipal tax rates

May 15, 2020 | 1:05 PM

Clearwater County council has approved the 2020 Tax Bylaw highlighted by a 0% municipal tax rate increase for all assessment classes.

This comes following a discussion on COVID-19 impacts and an extension on the first penalty date from September 15 to November 6, 2020.

The tax rate bylaw includes the extension of the first penalty which will provide an additional seven and a half weeks to pay all outstanding taxes without penalty. An 8% penalty will be added to outstanding taxes on November 6, 2020 at 4:30 pm and additional 4% added on December 15, 2020 at 4:30 pm for any still outstanding at that time.

“Given that Clearwater County’s original penalty date covered the requirements for the six-month deferral of the provincial school requisition for the non-residential class, this provides additional time on top of that deferral for all classes of assessment within Clearwater County,” reads a media release. “Each year, the school tax requisition is set by the province and that may vary year to year based on assessment values.”

A new change is the creation of a sub-class for rural non-residential small businesses, for which the tax rate has been set 25 per cent less than other non-residential properties for 2020. Information collected from small businesses will help the County establish a database to better identify the needs in the region to support and advance rural economic development. Lowering the tax rate for the small business sub-class and keeping municipal tax rates unchanged leaves a shortfall of $84,271 from the approximate $47,000,000 of budgeted tax revenue, this amount will be compensated through various departmental savings.

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The senior’s foundation requisition has increased from $605,919 to $625,301 for an increase of $19,382, making that levy 0.0889 per $1,000 of assessment and the percentage increase 3.2%.

“Giving property owners longer to pay if they need will help to ease financial burdens for individuals, families and businesses in our community,” Clearwater County Reeve, Timothy Hoven, noted. “With the long practiced responsible fiscal management strategy by current and previous Council’s, we were able to offset reduced municipal tax revenue this year and achieve a tax rate bylaw with a zero per cent increase.”

2020 Combined Assessment and Tax Notices will be mailed on June 12, 2020. All taxes are due upon receipt of tax notices, and penalties will apply if not paid before 4:30 pm on November 6, 2020. Clearwater County also offers a Tax Instalment Payment Plan (TIPP) allowing taxpayers to pay property taxes on a monthly basis.

It is important to note that while Clearwater County is responsible for collecting taxes from properties within the County; tax notices include amounts collected for four separate organizations: Clearwater County (municipal portion); Alberta Education (school portion); Alberta Municipal Affairs (Designated Industrial Property assessment portion); and the Westview Lodge Foundation (seniors’ foundation). Education Property Tax questions can be directed to the Government of Alberta Education Property Tax Line at 780-422-7125.

For more information on Clearwater County property assessments or Tax Installment Payment Plan, visit www.clearwatercounty.ca or call 403-845-4444.