TAX HIKE HIGHER THAN EXPECTED

When residential taxpayers receive their bills later this month, the average homeowner in Drayton Valley can expect to see an increase of more than $200. 

Town council approved a mill rate bylaw last week that sees the average annual household property tax increase from approximately $2,400 to $2,600.

That’s a significant change from what was in the 2024 budget approved in December. At that point it was estimated that the average residential bill would increase by around $130. 

Elvera Thomson, the General Manager of Corporate Services for the Town says the difference is due to a change in property assessments. 

“We base (the initial) amount on the previous year’s assessment, just because we don’t have the information at that time whether that assessment will be different or not,” says Thomson.

Now that the assessments have been completed, administration has a more definitive figure to use to figure out the increase.

The average commercial property tax will increase from $15,700 to $17,000, a difference of $1,300 per year.

Both the residential and commercial numbers are averages, and individual homeowners and businesses may see something different due to a number of other factors such as the location or the size of their property.

“Because we have so many different assessment codes, it’s not going to be consistent across the board,” says Thomson. 

The assessed value of the homes in the community is calculated by a third-party company. Thomson says the company uses many different factors when deciding the value of the home, such as the age, location, land size, improvements, amongst others.

Property owners are encouraged to look at the assessed value of their homes when they receive their tax notice, says Thomson. If someone disagrees with the assessment of their property they can contact town administration, who will then refer them to the assessor.

“If there is a mistake, he’s very good to work with and he’ll fix it,” says Thomson.

Amanda Jeffery, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Drayton Valley and District Free Press

2024-05-09T16:54:25Z dg43tfdfdgfd