CARSTAIRS - Council has approved the 2023 tax bylaw, which calls for a 14 per cent decrease in the residential mill rate compared with last year and a non-residential rate unchanged from 2022.
The 2023 residential mill rate is 5.50, down from 6.40 in 2022. The total residential tax levy is $4,021,302 on an assessment of $731,145,900.
The non-residential rate is 8.3133, unchanged from last year. The total levy for non-residential is $552,243 on an assessment of $66,431,260.
Overall assessment in town increased by 19 per cent or $138 million to a total of $856,826,230.
Rick Blair is the Town of Carstairs chief administrative officer.
“We dropped our municipal mill rate by 14 per cent,” said Blair. “The increase in municipal tax revenue went up $225,000, but our expenditure increase just for inflation was about $440,000, so we are not even keeping pace with inflation.
“We are talking about power and gas and fuel and insurance and COLA and those sorts of things, and requisitions went up all together about $242,000.
“When you take into consideration the amount of inflation that we had to deal with as a municipality, I think council did quite well with this budget, keeping it down to that percentage rise.”
The level of service in town will be largely unchanged in 2023 compared with 2022, he said.
In 2023, the machinery and equipment rate is 8.31330, unchanged from 2022.
The Alberta School Foundation Fund (ASFF) residential requisition rate is 2.11442, down slightly from last year’s total of 2.50973.
The non-residential ASFF rate is 3.74578, down slightly from 3.84900 in 2022.
The Mountain View Seniors' Housing Authority rate is 0.34400, virtually unchanged from last year, with the tax levy being $277,413, up from $233,539 in 2022.
The policing mill rate is 0.35551, up from 0.24523 in 2022, on a tax levy of $286,695, up from $163,869 last year.
Also approved by council, the 2023 operating budget calls for total revenues of $13,724,943, including $7,079,243 taxes and requisitions, up from $6,611,130 in 2022.
The budget calls for total expenses of $12,487,974, up from $11,355,974 inn 2022, and including general administration of $1,305,840, fire department of $520,294, water of $1,057,163, golf course of $1,671,126, library of $293,028, arena of $617,514, and $589,735 for parks.
The mayor will receive remuneration of $28,212 in 2023, up from $25,760 last year, the deputy mayor $24,544, up from $22,411 last year, and councillors $21,723, up from $19,835 in 2022.
The complete 2023 tax rate bylaw and the 2023 operating budget can be found on the town’s website.
