ST. PAUL – Residents and businesses in the County of St. Paul can expect to pay more in property taxes after council approved its 2025 Tax Rate Bylaw on April 22, increasing both mill rates and the overall amount of money the municipality will collect in taxes.
The bylaw indicates a nearly 10 per cent increase in the County’s total tax levy, increasing from $28.4 million in 2024 to $31.15 million this year.
That total includes both municipal taxes and requisitions. Requisitions are taxes collected on behalf of other organizations, such as the Alberta School Foundation Fund (ASFF), and the MD Foundation, which supports local seniors’ housing.
Although the County does not keep that portion of the money for its own operations, it is still part of what residents see on their tax notices.
Higher mill rates
Excluding requisitions, the County's portion is $25.2 million of the total levy – the money they keep – will see an increase of about $2.2 million compared to last year.
Contributing to higher taxes is increased mill rates across all major tax classes.
For residential properties, the municipal mill rate increased from 4.5 to 4.7, or about 5.4 per cent. Residential assessment values also went from $1.03 billion to $1.047 billion. So, together, the County projects to collect $4.95 million from residential property owners this year, compared to $4.62 million in 2024.
Overall, that’s a 7.2 per cent increase in total residential tax revenue.
On non-residential tax classes, farmland and provincially owned grazing reserves are going up from 15.3 to 15.8 mills, while industrial properties, including Designated Industrial Properties (DIPs) and machinery and equipment, went from 20.98 to 21.48 mills.
Designated Industrial Properties alone are expected to bring in over $18 million to the County this year, up from $16.3 million last year.
Small businesses will see mill rates increased from 19.9 mills in 2024 to 20.2 mills this year, or one per cent.
But the County will see about nine per cent decreased tax revenue from small businesses, going from $267,367 to $245,833, due to total lower assessed property value.
The total assessed value of small business properties decreased from $13 million to $12 million.
Example
Because property taxes are calculated by multiplying a property's assessed value by the mill rate (and divided by 1,000), even small changes in either number can result in a higher bill.
So, with residential properties for example, a home assessed at $250,000 would have paid roughly $1,121 in municipal taxes last year. With the new mill rate, the same property, even if assessment did not change, would still owe $1,182, or an increase of about $61.
The same home, if reassessed at $260,000, would pay $1,229 this year, or an increase of over $108 compared to last year.
But that’s before school taxes and other requisitions are factored in, which also increased this year. If requisitions are included, a resident with a $250,000 home that did not see changes in property assessment from 2024 in 2025, will see a total of $128 increase in tax, or 6.9 per cent hike.
Requisitions also up
Requisitions collected by the County are the Alberta School Foundation (ASFF), also known as the school requisition, and the senior housing requisition through the MD Foundation.
ASFF requisition for the County increased from $4.39 million to $4.84 million, or a 10.2 per cent increase. The MD Foundation also increased its requisition by over $100,000 from 2024, increasing to $1.03 million in 2025.
Ultimately, all property owners, even if their property’s assessed value stayed the same, will likely pay more in taxes this year. The jump for those with increased assessed property values will be even more noticeable.
Capital Contribution for MD of St. Paul Lodge Project
Most of the increases in municipal mill rates are also attributed to the County’s portion to the MD of St. Paul Foundation’s Lodge Project, explained County of St. Paul Reeve Glen Ockerman, in a follow-up interview.
The $50 million project involves replacing and expanding Sunnyside Manor with a new 90-unit residential building, lodge services, and the demolition of older cottages on the property.
The project’s funding strategy includes contributions from local municipalities – the Town of St. Paul, County of St. Paul, and Town of Elk Point – who are being asked to commit $4 million upfront.
County of St. Paul CAO Jason Wallsmith explained the County’s $328,000 contribution in 2025 is not classified as a requisition under senior’s housing. So, to help fund the County’s contribution, the municipal mill rate was increased.
Ockerman said, “We want safe, secure, and nice homes for our seniors,” both for seniors, and people who will benefit from the seniors housing in the community in the future. But doing so requires investment, he said.
"You know, it’s bad that we had to adjust the mill rates. We didn’t want to,” he acknowledged.
“Even if there’s only [overall] $100 increase on the taxes, $100 might be the difference of what they eat that month,” said Ockerman, but he added the increase was necessary, not only to help fund the Lodge Project, but also to keep up with increased operational costs and to put more money into both restricted and unrestricted reserves.
In 2024, the County also managed to balance its budget, ending up with approximately $3.4 million in surplus. Most of that surplus went to reserves, when the County transferred $5.8 million to reserves on April 8 during Budget 2025 deliberations, specifically for the following: $2 million for future operations; $1 million for future MD Foundation project funding; and $2.8 million for future capital reserves.
He also criticized the provincial government for downloading costs to municipalities, which he said makes it harder for municipalities to save money and balance budget.
“We’re paying for policing, senior housing, and they want us to do doctor recruitment and everything else.”
“Where are we supposed to get the money from?” he questioned.
Asked if the County had communications with the provincial government, Ockerman said there have been talks, including during conferences where municipalities had opportunities to talk with provincial representatives.
“We said you guys got to help us out [and] you can’t keep doing this to us. But I’m not sure if it’s fallen on deaf ears or not,” he added.
