Homeowners in Drayton Valley can expect a higher property tax bill this year. On Wednesday morning council approved an operating budget for 2022 that includes a 2.5 percent tax increase. The current rate of inflation across Canada is around 4.8 percent.
The Town anticipates bringing in a little more than $15 million in taxes this year. However, about $4 million of that is the requisition for the area’s school boards and does not stay with the municipality. There is also a small requisition which is forwarded to the Brazeau Seniors Foundation.
On top of taxes the Town expects to bring in around $13.5 million in operating revenues for a total operating budget just shy of $25 million.
The budget contains funding for a small number of operating projects. Those include an asset management project, an infrastructure assessment and an upgrade to the Town’s telephone system.
“Council’s priorities include maintaining excellent service levels, having a functioning asset management plan and program in place for future decision making as well as fiscal responsibility,” said Elvera Thomson, the Town’s General Manager of Finance. “As such, the 2022 operating budget was created to accommodate those priorities.”
The operating budget for the Early Childhood Development Centre was passed separately, with an anticipated deficit for the year of around $73,000. The recently announced federal/provincial child care program is expected to reduce the cost of using the centre for parents, but is not anticipated to have any impact on the Town’s costs for the ECDC. Brazeau County will be contributing to the facility’s operating costs for the first time in 2022. That contribution is expected to be around $64,000.
Taxes are calculated based on the assessed value of a property. That means that while there will be an average 2.5 percent increase, any individual homeowner could see a small or larger increase depending on any changes to that assessed value. Tax notices will be mailed out in May.
