COLD LAKE – At its regular meeting held on May 24, the City Cold Lake’s council set its municipal tax rates for 2022, which will result in an average municipal tax increase of 3.15 per cent.
While council voted to decrease mill rates for residential, multi-family and non-residential properties, Cold Lake residents will likely see an increase in their property taxes due to an increase in provincial tax requisitions, as well as an increase in property assessments for 2021.
The City of Cold Lake’s taxable assessments have increased by $112 million over 2021.
Growth due to new construction accounted for $18 million of that amount, while the balance of about $94 million was due to an increase in the assessed value of existing properties.
Drop in mill rates
The 2022 residential tax rate is set at 8.7765, which is down from 8.8555 in 2021. The multi-family residential rate is 8.9312, another decrease from 8.9470, while the non-residential rate is set at 12.7760, a drop from last year’s 12.7975 rate.
All applicable annexed properties will be taxed at the rate set by the MD of Bonnyville or the City of Cold Lake, whichever is lower, as per the annexation order approved by the Lieutenant Governor.
By keeping the same mill rate as 2021, this will equate to a surplus of $132,246 for the city due to the increase in property assessments.
In all, these tax rates are expected to generate about $21.37 million from properties within the city to balance the City’s $52.85 million operational budget. The operating budget includes a transfer to capital projects of $6.7 million.
In 2021, the City’s operating budget stood at $53.9 million, and the municipality collected $20.65 million in taxes to balance its budget.
“Council and administration worked hard to keep the tax rate increase to a minimum,” Mayor Craig Copeland said.
Taxes are based on the assessment, which means that a tax rate increase or decrease does not necessarily mean an increase or decrease in the amount of municipal tax a property owner will pay compared to previous years.
All assessments are based on market values as of July 2021 and conditions as of December 31, 2021.
Provincial requisitions
When the provincial school rate and seniors’ requisitions are included in the total property taxes, the average residential property in Cold Lake will see a 1.3 per cent increase in taxes, while the average non-residential property will see a 3.49 per cent increase.
On behalf of the province, the municipality will collect $6,273,611 for the Education Property Tax Requisition a decrease from 2021.
The Lakeland Seniors Foundation’s requisition is $145,281, up from 2021, which requires $124,009 to be collected. A tax rate of 0.0669 is needed to generate the funds required.
“A lot of uncertainty remains in the national and global economy,” Copeland said. “But we know that a great amount of investment is coming to the community from the Future Fighter Program and the upgrades that need to happen on 4 Wing Cold Lake. We hope that this economic activity helps our local businesses and industry weather this storm so that our community will come out of these times ready for continued growth.”
Tax notices will be mailed by the end of the month with a June 30 due date.
