By rdnewsNOW staff

Holding Steady

No property tax rate increase for Sylvan Lakers

May 27, 2020 | 12:01 PM

Tax rates will remain the same for property owners in the Town of Sylvan Lake this year.

On Monday, council gave second and third readings to the 2020 Property Tax Bylaw which will see municipal property tax rates remain unchanged from 2019 for both residential and non-residential properties.

Town officials say the 2020 budget previously included a 2.88 per cent municipal property tax rate increase for residential properties, but due to COVID-19, the Town made changes to its 2020 operating plans.

When first approved, taxable assessments were projected to be down approximately 3 per cent. However, with actual assessment values now available, overall assessments are down approximately 0.2 per cent from last year.

In addition, the Town of Sylvan Lake is not passing a Supplementary Tax Bylaw for 2020 in order to give builders and business owners some relief in light of the public health pandemic.

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Officials say the 2020 operating budget focuses on core infrastructure, sustainability, and fiscal responsibility, while seeking balance and respecting current economic realities and the needs of the community in the wake of the pandemic.

“In the constantly changing times of COVID-19, we are working hard as a municipality to keep people safe, keep operating costs low, and to continue to provide the services that our residents expect,” says Mayor Sean McIntyre, in a release. “While these challenges are temporary, this has meant major changes in the way of doing things that brings with it increased costs in some areas and deferred costs in other areas.”

Rate payers are reminded that these highlights do not include the province’s Education Tax changes, taxes that the municipality collects on the behalf of the Government of Alberta.

Town officials also remind residents of temporary municipal tax measures currently in place as a result of COVID-19:

• The Town of Sylvan Lake will allow property tax account holders the option to defer payments for the current year taxes, until December 31, 2020.
• The Town of Sylvan Lake will not charge August and September late penalties on arrears for current year taxes.
• Members of the public are not required to apply or register to defer tax payments, but if you are currently subscribed to an automatic withdrawal program, you WILL need to contact the Town to cancel payments.

(With file from Town of Sylvan Lake release)