DIDSBURY - Council has carried first reading of the 2023 tax rate bylaw, which calls for a residential mill rate of 7.437, down 7.3 per cent from 2022.
The non-residential rate would be 8.730, a decrease of 3.5 per cent from last year.
The vote came during the regularly scheduled April 15 council meeting, held in person and on YouTube.
Residential and farmland assessment values in town have increased by 12.2 per cent from 2022 totals, with non-residential assessment values also increasing, by 8.2 per cent, council heard.
If the tax rate bylaw receives final approval its current form, a house with an assessment of $652,990 would, for example, have a tax bill of $4,856, an increase of 2.9 per cent or $135 from 2022.
A non-residential property with an assessment of $1,779,600 would have a tax bill of $15,525, up 3.6 per cent or $534 from 2022.
The average assessment for a single-family residential property in town in 2023 is $290,500, while the average assessment for a non-residential property is $456,000.
Under the bylaw, the tax split would be 85.6 per cent from residential and 14.4 per cent from non-residential.
The 2023 operating budget was passed earlier, with a four per cent increase to revenues from taxes.
The education property tax requisition for 2023 is $1,679,413, an increase of 8.8 per cent from 2022’s total of $1,542,995.
The Mountain View Seniors Housing requisition for 2023 is $253,765, a 25.6 per cent increase from 2022.
“This is due to a combination of an increase approved by Seniors Housing and the increase in the town’s equalized assessment,” said chief administrative officer Ethan Gorner.
After passing first reading of the Tax Rate Bylaw 2023-10, council forwarded the bylaw to the strategic planning committee for recommendation.
