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Small changes for Turner Valley taxpayers

Some residents in Turner Valley can expect to pay less in taxes this year. Turner Valley Town council approved a decrease in its 2018 property tax rate bylaw for residents at its June 4 meeting.
Turner Valley Municipal Building
Turner Valley taxpayers are expected to see small changes in their taxes for 2018.

Some residents in Turner Valley can expect to pay less in taxes this year. Turner Valley Town council approved a decrease in its 2018 property tax rate bylaw for residents at its June 4 meeting. This means the average house valued at $350,000 will see a reduction of $116.67 in municipal taxes to $2,683.33 from $2,800 last year. Yet, when accounting for provincial education and the Westwind Foundation tax levies, that average amount is expected to be a $90.85 reduction. Business owners can expect to pay more this year than last, despite council approving no changes to its municipal tax rates, due to the increase in education and Westwind Foundation tax levies. “The increase in the school requisition was around 4.5 per cent,” said Mayor Gary Rowntree. “Since 2015 the school taxes have increased 25.9 per cent and we have no control over that at all as a municipality.” Striving to keep taxes as low as possible was a challenge for council and administration. The Town expects drop in revenue from sales of goods and services this year of approximately $200,000 and property assessments in Turner Valley increased by 5.37 per cent from last year. Coun. Cindy Holladay said more than 20 new homes were built, adding approximately $5 million to the property assessments. In addition, residential assessment for older homes increased by an average of three per cent, she said. “If assessment values go up three per cent on our older homes our mill rate needs to come down three per cent to stay at the status quo so residents are paying the same amount,” she said. “If our assessments go up and our mill rates go up people end up paying a whole lot more. That’s not what we wanted.” Deputy Mayor Barry Crane said council did its due diligence to cut costs and find efficiencies, as many councillors had promised in last fall’s municipal election campaign. “We went four times through the budget process because we wanted to make sure we were not taking a bigger hit at the tax table for residents,” he said. “We vetted the budget to narrow it down to look for efficiencies. We’ve got a good budget.” The approved operating budget gives the town a surplus of approximately $19,000 this year, leaving it in the black. For Coun. Garry Raab, operating the Town as lean as possible is a top priority. “It’s incumbent upon us to submit a balanced budget for the government,” he said. “We can’t be running at a deficit.” Coun. Jonathan Gordon told council he’s confident Town expenditures are going in the right direction. “One of the things I really like about where we’re headed right now is an overall control of our costs,” he said. “One of the things I’m looking forward to in the next little while is getting the strategic plan reviewed and moving forward with our town. I look forward to seeing what investments to make in our town and I look forward to that in the coming budget.”  

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