Stettler County ratepayers will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets after council approved tax three and five per cent tax hikes in its $24.6 million 2019 budget.
During its regular meeting Jan. 10, Stettler County council approved a three per cent residential and five per cent farmland tax increase.
The five per cent farm tax increase translates into about a $30 increase on a quarter section of land. The increase will add about $149,539 to the county’s coffers. The three per cent residential increase means about $56 more a year on a home valued at $500,000.
“Going forward this budget provides that the county can continue to maintain our existing level of service and continue to capitalize on grant monies as they become available,” said Stettler County Director of Communications Niki Thorsteinsson in a release.
Recognizing the struggling oil and gas industry, the county’s 2019 budget, however, doesn’t include an increase to the non-residential, linear or machinery and equipment taxes.
About 68 per cent of the county’s tax revenue comes from linear, machinery and equipment and non-residential taxes. Another 19 per cent comes from residential and 13 per cent from farm taxes.
Included in the budget is a $100 administration fee to cover the administration of the laneway snowplowing program, which includes flags and annual inspections for laneway snow plowing.
“The administration fee was implemented as a result of the public budget survey, indicating this was not a service available equally to all residents of the County of Stettler,” said Thorsteinsson.
The budget includes a new patrol vehicle. The county has three full-time protective service officers who maintain services 24 hours a day seven days a week. These officers also run the Stettler Regional Emergency Management Agency to respond to any disasters in the county, the Town of Stettler, Villages of Big Valley, Donalda and Gadsby and Summer Villages of White and Rochon Sands.
The budget also includes a two per cent cost of living increase for employees and merit increases for eligible employees.
The lion share of the budget, $14 million goes to general expenses, followed by transportation budget at $10.4 million. The next highest budget is the administration budget is $2 million.
Council will confirm the tax rates after getting its 2018 assessment numbers in May.
lisa.joy@stettlerindependent.com
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