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By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

APR. 22 MEETING

Red Deer city council approves 2025 tax bylaws, hears economic development update, and more

Apr 22, 2025 | 9:06 PM

Red Deer’s city council has unanimously approved the 2025 Tax Rate Bylaw at a 10.35 per cent increase for residential properties.

The bylaw also includes provincial requisitions to support education and senior housing, accounting for about 26 per cent of the average residential tax bill.

In December, council approved a 10.5 per cent increase to the tax supported operating budget. When combined with the 2025 provincial education requisition increase of 10.95 per cent, and a decrease in the seniors’ affordable housing requisition, the overall increase is:

• 10.35 per cent for both residential and non-residential properties
• 6.49 per cent for multi-family properties

This means the total annual tax bill on every $100,000 of residential assessed values will increase to $989.71 in 2025, up from $896.89 in 2024.

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Tax notices will be sent on May 12, and payments are due by June 30. Residents can sign up to receive their notice electronically via MyCity.

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Related: Red Deer city council approves “absolutely necessary” 10.5% property tax increase

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Similarly, council approved the Business Improvement Area (BIA) tax bylaw.

The Downtown Business Association’s (DBA) 2025 budget was approved on Dec. 2, 2024, requiring council to also pass the BIA tax and tax rate bylaw.

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Related: City council approves 2025 Downtown Business Association Budget

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There are 376 taxable businesses in the BIA: 126 of those will be taxed at the minimum rate of $226, an increase of $14.05, and the remaining 250 will be taxed at the BIA tax rate, which equates to an average increase of 6.67 per cent.

A higher rate was considered to recover $24,231 in under-collections from 2024, but an amendment by Councillor Victor Doerksen, which passed 8-1, directed this amount to be absorbed in the city’s Operating Reserve – Tax Supported (ORTS) instead. Coun. Kraymer Barnstable was in opposition, citing a need to be mindful of the strain placed on ORTS given its current state.

BIA notices will go out, and payments are due, on the same dates as property taxes.

An additional motion arising from this item was brought forward later by Coun. Lawrence Lee.

With unanimous support from all eight council members present (Vesna Higham was absent), council directed administration to bring back a report by the end of Q2 outlining the process of disestablishing the BIA; it also asked the Downtown Governance Committee to outline alternative funding options that could support the greater downtown in its report to council in Q3.

Essentially, council has started down the path to considering new funding sources to support the Downtown Business Association and the work it does, as collecting business levies through the BIA has proved to be less than ideal in recent years.

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Read more: Red Deer city council talks downtown governance, audit committees, and Zoning Bylaw amendments

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City council also heard an update from the Ad Hoc Economic Development Committee during its regular meeting on Apr. 22.

The committee was established in December 2024 and tasked with assessing and recommending a renewed economic development model for the city.

So far, the committee has identified 10 core factors, such as governance, leadership, innovation and stakeholder engagement, that it believes are critical to building an effective and sustainable model. Using these factors, an evaluation process was developed to assess two potential organizational models: keeping economic development services within the city’s administration, or establishing an external, arm’s-length organization.

Next, the committee will engage with industry stakeholders and the community to share its findings so far, confirm its direction and gather feedback to prepare its final report, expected in June.

There will be an open house on this matter on May 6 from 2-4 p.m. in the Harvest Centre at Westerner Park.

Finally, council unanimously adopted a policy resolution to put forward to Alberta Municipalities (AB Munis) upon its next meeting in November, which focuses on carbon tax rebates or exemptions for municipalities.

The purpose of the resolution is to:

• Include municipalities in the rebate program that already exists for individuals and small businesses, retroactive to the beginning of the consumer carbon tax structure.
• Provide exemptions for municipalities in any future iteration of a consumer carbon tax.

The city reports that the most recent consumer carbon tax structure required it to send about $1.5 million in payments to the federal government, which roughly equates to a one per cent tax increase.

If the results of the federal election on Apr. 28 have any impact on the carbon tax policy and this resolution, council has the opportunity to put forward an alternative resolution to AB Munis instead.