Mountain View County council has received the 2019 market summary report provided by the assessment department with a detailed analysis of the 2018 assessment year.
The move came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
“This document is one of the most important documents the county has to determine the future trends of property tax revenue,” administration said in a briefing note to council.
“The vast majority of our revenue comes from property owners in the county. Understanding trends will give insight to our financial strength to the county.”
Assessment is the process of placing a dollar value on a property for taxation purposes.
In 2018, total assessment values increased in four of the five property classes, members heard.
“This has resulted in a total taxable assessment increase of 1.52 per cent overall growth, with 1.10 per cent attributed to real growth. This can be compared with last year’s 1.08 per cent total growth, with over 0.61 per cent attributed to real growth.”
• Residential and residential DIP (designated industrial properties) increased by $31,224,720 or 1.36 per cent.
• Non-residential and non-residential DIP decreased $30,238,320 or 8.78 per cent.
• Machinery and Equipment & Machinery and Equipment DIP increased by $7,931,150 or 1.65 per cent.
• Farmland and Farmland DIP increased by $1,394,970 or 0.89 per cent.
• Linear, co-generation and railway increased by $58472,000 or 4.70 per cent.
The report included average residence values – for a hypothetical residence of 1,400-square-foot average quality bungalow built in 1990 on a three-acre site – in several parts of the county, comparing 2017 and 2018 totals.
• Water Valley assessment increased by 1.95 per cent to $487,050; north of Olds increased 0.18 per cent to $460,920; south of Carstairs increased 1.99 per cent to $459,250; east of Didsbury increased 0.33 per cent to $443,560; east of Sundre decreased 0.02 per cent to $370,510; east of Elkton decreased 0.11 per cent to $427,230; and east of Highway 2 decreased 0.59 per cent to $402,030.
The review also looked at some of the RV sites in the county:
• Land and improvement values have risen by approximately one per cent within the recreation area of Tall Timber Resort. New RVs are replacing existing ones, causing the increase.
• Coyote Creek has shown an overall increase of 4.6 per cent due to upward movement of market values and the addition of newer RVs.
• Bergen Springs continues to show an average market increase of approximately 1.3 per cent due to recent sales, new construction and RV replacement.
• Sundre River Resort is currently assessed at full market value and valued similarly to other multi-owner properties such as Maranatha, Arowen and Elkton Valley Campground.
The complete market summary report can be viewed on the county's website.
Council passed a motion accepting the report for information. Reeve Bruce Beattie was not present for the motion vote.
