SUNDRE — After previously directing administration to investigate an alternative approach to taxing a property that was annexed from Mountain View County in 2010, council was presented a report with findings before making a final decision.
Chris Albert, director of corporate services, said during a teleconferenced council meeting last month that an extensive amount of research determined that subclasses for expired annexation agreements are not normal.
The annexed properties received 10 years of preferential rate as per the order, he said.
“Typically, once that annexation order has expired, there are no more preferential rates," he said.
A number of other municipalities were contacted to find out why they might allow such an exception, while additional feedback was also sought from the town’s assessor, who also reached out to his contacts, he said.
“They also could not find any municipality who created subclasses solely on the basis of the expiration of an annexation order,” he said.
Furthermore, he said administration wanted council to understand that a lower rate for the property would result in higher taxes for the remaining properties in town.
“And if council does chose to apply a subclass, we will also need council to define the criteria that that subclass would be based on," he said.
Coun. Todd Dalke moved to maintain the status quo by not implementing a taxation subclass for properties affected by the 2010 annexation.
Coun. Richard Warnock spoke in favour, calling the implications of tax subclasses “a dark hole that can eat you up.”
Making an exception in this instance, Warnock argued, could open the door for other residents and business owners to at this time or in the future make similar requests for tax subclasses.
“Even though it’s a tough decision that we have to make, the situation is that there is a 10-year program that’s in place because of annexation, and that has expired,” he said.
Coun. Rob Wolfe was also concerned about the potential for setting a precedent, and agreed with the motion.
Coun. Charlene Preston said the annexation agreement provided 10 years of leeway.
“This was not a sudden decision, this was an expectation that was coming in the year 2020,” Preston said.
Mayor Terry Leslie said under the circumstances — considering that establishing a tax subclass after an annexation expires is not common and that other taxpayers would have to make up for the balance — he supported the motion, which carried unanimously.
