The Town of Athabasca council passed the 2019 tax rate bylaw at its council meeting May 7, raising the residential mill rate to 8.18623.
Coun. Ida Edwards made a motion to pass second reading to authorize the rates of taxation to be levied against assessable property. The motion was passed unanimously.
Speaking after the meeting, chief administrative officer Robert Jorgensen said the net effect of the hike adds $2,867 to the town's coffers — or about a dollar a person.
"Residential taxes were raised by three per cent, but residential assessment dropped by two per cent overall," he said.
A report filed by Jorgensen prior to the council meeting notes the town does not have the education tax requisition for the 2019 year due to the provincial election.
"So for second and third reading, we will be using the 2018 requisition request," the report said. "This will mean we will need to make up the difference in the 2020 tax year as an under levy for this year."
During discussions, Mayor Colleen Powell said the residential mill rate would be raised from 7.93 per cent last year.
Coun. Tannia Cherniwchan moved to pass third reading of the bylaw. The motion was passed unanimously.
Auditing services
Councillors also passed a motion made by Coun. Robert Balay to direct administration to prepare a request for proposal for audit services for a three-year term.
During discussions, Jorgensen said they have had the Slave Lake-based firm Rebryna Dana LLP as auditor for the past few years.
“It’s good practice to advertise just to see who is out there that can do the audit,” he said. “It keeps everyone informed as to how much it will cost.”
In a report he filed to council before the meeting, Rebryna Dana LLP’s current appointment agreement expires Dec. 31, 2019.
Powell said she was in favour of the move.
“Sometimes, you get a better deal when you send out the advertisement,” she said. “It does not always work out that way, but sometimes it might.”
2019 capital projects
Council unanimously passed a motion made by Coun. Mike Arychuk to direct administration to proceed with the capital projects with the exception of the sidewalk replacements.
According to a report filed by Jorgensen before the meeting, the new UCP government will not be passing their 2019 budget until later in the fall.
“This means we do not have our (Municipal Sustainability Initiative) funding until the fall,” Powell said. “That covers most of the town’s capital expenses.”
Balay suggested that council put pressure on the new local MLA to push for an earlier date for the provincial budget.
“This lack of MSI funding will put lots of municipalities in limbo,” he said. “I might suggest contacting the (Alberta Municipalities Association) and the (Rural Municipalities of Alberta) to address these concerns as well.”
Powell also said they could delay some projects until they find out exactly what is going on.
“We do have to do the sanitary force main and the University Drive patching this year,” she said. “We do have reserves that can cover that, and that we can replenish.”
Jorgensen said only two projects that would be affected are the University Drive project and the sidewalk replacement project.
“The rest of our capital projects are coming out of our own money, anyway,” he said.
Balay said it is critical that the University Drive project gets done in July or August.
“We need to make sure there is funding for that so public works can go ahead and get that done,” he said. “It also shows that we need to invite the MLA to our meeting sooner rather than later.”
Cheriwchan moved to extend a formal invitation to Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken to attend a special meeting of the council. The motion passed unanimously.
Editor's note: The version of the story printed in the newspaper May 14, 2019 states incorrectly the residential mill rate was raised to 8.18623 per cent. The Advocate apologizes for the error.
