Photo: EverythingGP Staff

By Shaun Penner

2020 Budget

County reduces municipal tax rate by 1.2 per cent for 2020

Apr 18, 2020 | 1:31 PM

County of Grande Prairie Council changed course on its 2020 Budget during deliberations this week due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately resulting in the decision to reduce the municipal tax rate by 1.2 per cent for this year.

Following interim budget talks back in December, Council had decided on an increase of one per cent for 2020. However, with the economic climate that the pandemic has created, Council decided to lower its mil rate.

“As it stands now, we know even a small increase would be difficult for our community, so we have reduced the budget, with a 1.2 per cent decrease to the municipal portion of property taxes,” said Reeve Leanne Beaupre. “We hope this, combined with the waiving of penalties for late payments from June 30 to October 31, will help reduce the challenges many of our residents and businesses may be experiencing.”

The new mil rate means that an average residential property valued at $435,000 will see a property tax bill of $2,851. However, taxes may vary based on individual property assessments and changes to its market value.

The ability to reduce the tax rate mostly comes from Council deciding to use its $1.15 million surplus from the 2019 budget.

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“We have found ourselves in unchartered territory dealing with the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Beaupre. “I commend Council for their leadership and Administration for their hard work on following best practices to balance fiscal responsibility while ensuring essential services are maintained during this particularly difficult time of unpredictability.”

Council was also tasked with finding ways to reduce its expenditures to maintain core services, while also being able to drop its tax rate. The County says they have done this by suspending and cancelling some services, programs and events, as well as not moving forward with proposed new hires.

The finalized budget sits at $149.5 million for this year, with $78.4 million earmarked for general operations and $71.1 million for capital projects. $40.9 million of the capital budget will be spent on road and bridge projects across the County. That includes nearly 30 km of road re-surfacing and re-construction projects.

“Councillors are very passionate about the roads because they hear that from their ratepayers on a regular basis,” said Beaupre, following interim budget talks in December.

Residents will see an increase to some of their fees, including a 25 cent increase in monthly curbside waste and recycling collection fees, while sewer and water rates will go up by 3 per cent.

A few of the projects the County has included in the 2020 budget can be found below:

Capital projects:

• $6.5 million for servicing the lands adjacent to the Five Mile Community Hall site for future schools
• $3 million to purchase crown land for industrial development
• $1 million to construct storm water drainage system along 156 Avenue in Clairmont
• $460,000 to build Phase 1 of the La Glace Water Treatment Plant
• $412,000 in Regional Fire Service equipment replacements and upgrades including a new Live Fire Training Facility
• $235,000 for Pipestone Creek Campground and Bear Lake Campground site upgrades

Operating budget:

• $5.7 million in recreation, community, culture, library, seniors and special needs transportation, and FCSS grants to various organizations
• Over $1.6 million towards Weed Control services and program
• Additional $100,000 each year over five years (2020-2024) to support STARS
• $258,000 for the Tri-Municipal Industrial Partnership
• $187,675 for Commercial investment and attraction strategy

The full list of projects included in the 2020 budget can be found on the County of Grande Prairie website.