Coaldale town council passes mill rate bylaw highlighted by 3rd consecutive year of no residential tax increases

Coaldale Town Council unanimously passed the property tax bylaw stipulating a zero percent residential municipal tax rate increase in 2021.

“The 0% increase was requested by Council in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and related financial relief measures,” said Coaldale Mayor Kim Craig. “This marks the third consecutive year of zero percentage tax increases in Coaldale. On top of this, one of our strategic priorities this Council term has been growing our non-residential tax base and we’re very proud of the tremendous growth in commercial and industrial investment we’ve been able to attract to the community over the past few years.”

Residential tax bills in Alberta are determined by three separate factors:

1.Municipal tax: The Town of Coaldale collects approximately 76% of a single tax dollar. These funds are used to support municipal services like fire departments, roads, water and sewer utilities, parks, and recreation infrastructure.

2.Education tax: Approximately 23% of a municipal property tax bill is collected by the Province of Alberta to fund education in the community. The Town simply collects the bill on the Province’s behalf.

3.Senior housing tax: The remaining 1% is collected to support senior housing in the community. In Coaldale, this fund is managed by the Green Acres Foundation. “While the Town’s residential tax rates will not go up this year, residents may still see a change in their property tax bills,” said Kyle Beauchamp, Chief Financial Officer at the Town of Coaldale. “There are elements to the final tax bill that are outside our control; however, Town Council and administration are committed to playing their part in keeping that number down for residents.”

A 0% tax increase was also applied to the Town’s 2021 non-residential municipal tax rates.

“Coaldale’s competitive tax rates have been one of many driving factors contributing to the expansion of Coaldale’s non-residential tax base,” said Cameron Mills, Manager of Economic Development at the Town of Coaldale. “Having our new non-residential mill rate come in below 1% means that we’re a very attractive community for new business investment; our rate in 2021 of 0.986% compares favorably to other communities in the area, including Lethbridge at 2.133% which represents tremendous cost savings for business and is part of what has made Coaldale so attractive for investors in recent years.”

“We’re proud of the work we’ve done in terms of keeping our costs down even while we take on a significant number of major projects,” said Mayor Craig. “We’ve made a lot of important strategic decisions this term that have allowed Coaldale to get amazing value for the dollars it spends, and that in turn has allowed us to pursue a number of once-in-a-generation projects while simultaneously keeping tax rates down. This latest Bylaw is simply another positive demonstration of the commitment to value that has been at the forefront of this Council term.”