Sand and gravel pit operators in Red Deer County will now pay a 25-cent-per-tonne levy commencing Jan. 1 after council approved second and third reading of a community aggregate payment bylaw at council Tuesday.The money will go towards infrastructure and road repair.One person was present to speak out against the bylaw. Kent Coleman, of Northside Construction in Red Deer, said clarification of the bylaw is needed. He said private jobs are sometimes turned over to a municipality and he wanted to know if companies should face a levy in that situation, since municipal and Crown-owned pits and projects are exempt.He also questioned whether companies could get billed twice if they move gravel to one location only to move it back later.ìThese are everyday occasions that have to be clarified a lot better than that,î he said.Four responses via phone and letter were received, with one in support of the levy.ìThe proposed levy only covers gravel pits and excludes all other road traffic within the same weight class since there is other intense hauls that take place in the Red Deer County jurisdiction,î wrote Alan Ebbesen of Innisfail in a letter. He said with no levy in place for Clearwater County, gravel operators outside of Red Deer County will have an unfair price advantage on bidding and that it discourages local taxpayers from buying gravel in the county.ìThe property taxes on every gravel pit in the county have been substantially increased in recent years by county administration who justified it by saying it would assist in the maintenance of county roads,î wrote Rodger and Randy Malcolm in a joint letter to council.ìWe have a road use agreement in place that covers our trucks hauling anywhere in the county. This agreement also is a performance bond in the amount of $50,000. We believe this bond will not be necessary in the event this new levy passes.îìI realize we're taxing one enterprise,î said Mayor Jim Wood. ìBut it will help us cover costs Ö we need to run a municipality in a proper manner,î he said, adding that other municipalities have been doing it for a while and Red Deer County was ìmissing the boat.îAn Aggregate Task Force, made up of representatives from the provincial government, municipal districts and counties as well as some gravel industry companies, created the community aggregate payment regulation that came into effect in January 2006.Div. 4 Coun. David Hoar had issues with the levy, saying, ìphilosophically I can't see targeting a sub industry and taxing them Ö I realize the gravel industry uses our roads and some are even willing to pay, but I have difficulty in my mind choosing who has to pay and who doesn't.îSecond and third reading passed with Div. 3 Coun. Penny Archibald and Hoar opposed. Red Deer County has 36 active pits out of a total of 51. Of the 36, five are county pits.As of 2010, 25 municipalities had adopted the levy. Mountain View County just recently approved a 25-cent-per-tonne levy that comes into effect in January. Other municipalities with the levy include Lacombe County, Ponoka County, the Municipal District of Bighorn, Rocky View County, Starland County and Wheatland County. In 2009, revenues collected ranged from $19,205 to $1.14 million.
