ST. PAUL - The County of St. Paul is continuing to voice its concerns regarding proposed changes to assessment around oil and gas for tax purposes.
A petition was created by the County of St. Paul, and as of Tuesday had 946 signatures. The petition will be sent to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, said CAO Sheila Kitz in her monthly report presented during the Sept. 8 council meeting. The petition is set to close on Sept. 18.
The petition was posted through change.org and is addressed to Premier Jason Kenney, Minister Tracy Allard, and Minister of Energy Sonya Savage.
The petition states: "The Alberta government is proposing changes to the Assessment Model for regulated industrial properties such as wells and pipelines that will negatively impact the rural municipalities in Alberta by reducing revenues while potentially increasing taxes for its residents."
The petition reads further, "We the undersigned residents of Alberta: Urge the Government of Alberta to cease with any proposed changes to the Assessment Model for regulated industrial properties such as wells and pipelines that will negatively impact the revenues and services of all rural municipalities in the Province of Alberta, and has the potential to significantly increase taxes for its residents."
While giving her report, Kitz noted that Reeve Steve Upham and Director of Corporate Services Kyle Attanasio attended a meeting with the new Minister of Municipal Affairs on Sept. 2, along with a number of other rural municipalities and representatives from Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA). The meeting took place just a week after Allard was appointed as minister.
Meeting with new municipal affairs minister productive
The minister has indicated that she will be making a determination by Oct. 1 regarding the review, "As such, we have pushed strategic planning sessions into mid-October," said Kitz.
During Tuesday's council meeting, Upham said he felt there was an "openness" from the minister to speak about the issue.
