Final Canmore tax rates set for 2024

CANMORE – Canmore residents now know what their final tax bill will be for the coming year.

Town council approved the final tax rate at its Tuesday (May 7) meeting, with every $100,000 of assessed value for a residential home, meaning a $15.53 municipal tax increase.

Council approved the 2024 budget last December, with the operating budget coming in at $77 million. The municipal tax requisite was approved at $34.88 million for a 7.6 per cent increase from 2023.

However, tax rates are unable to be finalized until the province releases the education tax, which is collected by municipalities and added to property owners' tax bills. Canmore had one of the highest spikes in its requisition, with a 23 per cent increase – or $5.6 million – to $30.4 million.

A 2024 education property tax requisition comparison report released by the province shows Canmore had one of the highest year-over-year percentage change increases in the requisition among municipalities.

“The amount that comes out of Canmore has always been disproportionate of the amount that returns to our schools. … Canmore continues to get hammered by that taxation, which goes to benefit many others across the province, so you’re welcome,” said Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert.

Municipalities in Alberta are required to collect education tax on behalf of the province, but a municipal government is only the go-between in the money getting from property owners to the province.

Coun. Joanna McCallum highlighted the money collected by a municipality for education tax may be more than a local school division receives from the province.

According to Canadian Rockies Public Schools approved 2023-24 budget, the province provided $26.61 million. However, both the Town of Banff – which will collect $10.3 million in education tax – and the MD of Bighorn would contribute to the provincial education tax.

“Although people pay education taxes, it goes straight into general revenues in Edmonton,” McCallum said, adding it’s an “archaic” system.

The province kept the education tax at the 2023-24 mill rates, but increased property assessment growth means an added 9.2 per cent in revenue collected.

For every dollar collected by the Town, $0.53 goes to municipal services, $0.02 is for seniors’ housing and the remaining $0.45 goes to the province for education.

The Town will collect $1.6 million for seniors’ levy – determined by Bow Valley Regional Housing – for a four per cent ($64,471) increase from 2023 and designated industrial property requisition will be $4,597.

This year also saw the median assessed residential home hit $1.043 million.

A single-detached home – which includes duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes – has a median assessment of $1.383 million. A condo median assessment is $761,000.

The average median assessed residential home in 2021 was $772,000 and grew to $800,000 in 2022. It hit $969,000 last year.

A median assessed home, however, isn’t the true market value of what it may sell at on the open market, but what Benchmark Assessments Consultants Inc. – the Town’s independent assessor – gives as appraisals.

The assessor completes the work separate from the Town, with properties assessed and taxed based on the economic condition as of July 1 and the condition as of Dec. 31, 2023.

“The median single-family homeowner with a change in assessed value from $1,211,000 to $1,383,000 will see an increase in municipal taxes of approximately $29.13 per month,” stated a staff report. “If a property value has increased or decreased more or less than this, there will be a corresponding effect on taxes.”

The Town received 52 appeals, with 35 for residential properties and 17 for non-residential. The number was a slight decline from 63 last year, though or withdrawn were resolved before Assessment Review Board hearings.

A staff report noted the 52 appeals have a potential loss of about $216,000 municipal tax dollars – or roughly 0.63 per cent of the tax requirement.

Residential properties count for roughly 85 per cent of the Town’s total assessment value and generate about 65 per cent of its municipal tax levy. Non-residential properties make up about 15 per cent of assessed value and generate roughly 35 per cent of the municipal tax levy.

The municipal tax split for Canmore is 65 per cent coming from residential and 35 per cent non-residential, meaning $22.6 million in municipal taxes will come from residential and $12.3 million from non-residential.

Municipal tax increases of 7.2 and 3.2 per cent are forecasted for 2025 and 2026, respectively. A one per cent tax increase in the last budget cycle represented about $320,000.

In addition to the average residential assessed home having a $15.53 municipal tax increase per $100,000 of assessed value, non-residential properties had an average assessed change in value of 15.4 per cent or $45.21 in municipal tax increase per $100,000 in assessed value.

Tax notices are scheduled to be mailed out May 17.

Canmore has a total taxable assessment base of $11.85 billion following a $1.17 billion jump from 2023. The bulk – $9.92 billion – are residential. The real growth through assessed value was $223.6 million and market inflation growth was $943.3 million.

Krausert added the budget was largely a status quo one, meaning there were few new services provided and it was maintaining what was already available. A significant impact was the growing costs across the board.

“Our families face them, our businesses face them and our municipality faces them ... in times of affordability crunch that’s being felt right across the country and people will feel that,” said Krausert. “We are cognizant of that.”

2024 TAX ASSESSMENTS (2023 FIGURES IN BRACKETS)