Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Jasper Municipal Council discussed shifting more of the tax burden from commercial properties to residential ones during its May 25 committee of the whole meeting.
The municipality currently has a 5.1:1 split between non-residential and residential taxes, but council is expected to consider either 5:1 or 4.9:1.
Under the province鈥檚 Municipal Government Act, municipalities are required to have a 5:1 ratio between non-residential and residential taxes, although there is no set timeline for when municipalities have to come into compliance.
The Jasper Hotel Association (JHA) has also sent a letter to council requesting that the tax split go from 5.1:1 to 4.9:1.
The letter noted how the number of residences has grown since the split was last reviewed a decade ago.
鈥淭he JHA feels the current tax split needs to be reduced to be more equitable and would suggest that this should occur over a period of years to reflect the changes in our community,鈥� said JHA President Ralph Melnyk in the letter.
The main challenge with altering the ratio is how 38 lake properties currently have a lower mill rate 鈥� the ratio being 1:0.58333 between residential and lake properties 鈥� due to not having access to the same municipal services as other residential properties.
鈥淚f we are going to a strict 5:1 ratio, then that basically doubles their taxes and that increase is spread among only those 38 properties,鈥� said CAO Bill Given.
To mitigate the increase for these lake prosperities, administration suggested that the municipality could offer a rebate either by over-levying or incurring a revenue loss.
Due to the complexity of the issue, councillors Paul Butler and Rico Damota advocated for a working group to come up with recommendations for the tax bylaw.
Mayor Richard Ireland cautioned that council needed to figure out what equity looks like regarding taxation, rather than come up with more specific numbers.
鈥淚 hesitate to think that we can burden administration with just a raft of numbers and that鈥檚 going to help us come to a decision,鈥� Ireland said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to add more work for them, more confusion for us and distract us from what is our primary objective, (which) is to insert what we consider to be an equitable solution, and equity doesn鈥檛 just come from numbers.鈥�
The tax rate bylaw will go before council again on June 1, along with information about potentially reducing the ratio to 4.9:1.
Given also clarified that while tax notices only had to go out sometime in 2021, delaying this later into the year could cause cash flow issues for the municipality.
Other highlights
The mayor will write a letter in support of continuing RCMP services.
This comes after Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara sent a letter to Alberta鈥檚 justice minister in support of the RCMP and in opposition to a provincial police force.
The letter noted that a provincial police force might not cost less than current RCMP services and more costs would likely be borne on municipalities.
Ireland said Jasper was well served by the RCMP and noted how the Mounties were an iconic Canadian symbol.
Preparations are also beginning for the municipal elections this fall, with the committee recommending that council approve four recommendations.
These recommendations include authorizing a special ballot process, an advance vote and an institutional vote, as well as passing a bylaw to authorize the rotation of candidates鈥� names on ballots.
The committee also recommended that council approve the current council compensation and benefits structure and amounts for the 2021-2025 council, subject to annual Consumer Price Index increases.
As of 2021, salaries for the position of councillor is set at $1,395.57 per month, and $5,982.65 per month for the position of mayor.
