Jasper Municipal Council gave third and final reading to the 2024 tax rate bylaw during its regular council meeting on Tuesday.
Two weeks ago, council decided to maintain the tax rate ratio of 5:1 between non-residential and residential for 2024.
Under this ratio, the municipality will requisition $2,781,641 from residential and $8,301,056 from non-residential.
Although there was some interest in adjusting the ratio to help ease the burden for businesses, the consensus was that council needed more consultation with ratepayers of all stripes before making any changes.
In the 2024 budget, the total tax-funded budget equates to $29,059,376 with $11,289,762 of this amount coming from municipal taxes.
The amount was reduced by $207,064.46 in over levies collected in prior years to around $11 million.
The remaining 61 per cent of municipal expenses are recovered through grants and user fees.
Of the $11,289,762 that the municipality collects, $746,386 will be for land rent to the federal government and $379,080 will go to the provincial government for policing.
Together, these two payments equal around 10 per cent of municipal taxes.
The Municipality of Jasper will also requisition $5,768,534 for the Alberta School Foundation Fund (ASFF), $5,398 for Designated Industrial Property (DIP) and $1,015,830 for the Evergreens Foundation Senior Housing.
Municipal employee housing
Council also decided to increase the rental rates for municipal employee housing by 4.5 per cent, only half of what administration had recommended.
The municipality offers housing to employees to aid in staff recruitment and retention.
Having access to three staff accommodation units, the municipality operated its program at a loss last year due to fluctuating seasonal demand and a planned vacancy for renovations.
According to policy, assigned rental rates should be 15 per cent below the Jasper market rate for like properties or 30 per cent of the employee’s total gross monthly income.
Administration decided not to base its recommendation on preexisting policy as one of the properties would have had a 44 per cent increase, which was partially attributed to an outlier data point for four-bedroom units.
Instead, it recommended a nine per cent increase based on research into the local market and market trends.
Council ultimately decided to only increase the rates by 4.5 per cent.
Coun. Wendy Hall said a nine per cent increase would be too high in just one year and did not align with the wage increase.
Coun. Scott Wilson argued that the smaller increase was unfair to employees who did not live in subsidized housing.
Mayor Richard Ireland added how the situation was challenging since taxpayers had to subsidize renters who did not pay any municipal taxes.
Despite these objections, the motion was carried 5-2.
