2021 Tax Rate Bylaw
James Suffredine • April 28, 2021
The Magrath Town Council has Passed 1st reading of the 2021 Tax Rate Bylaw
Magrath’s Town Council has worked diligently to keep the Town’s mill rate the same since 2018. Unfortunately, in 2021 rising and new costs from The Chief Mountain Solid Waste Commission, the Province’s Rural Crime Initiative, and other contracted service increases have outpaced the Town’s revenue growth in 2020 to a point where no reasonable alternative other than an increase to the municipal mill rate exists. The Town Council has therefore proposed a 3% increase to the residential property mill rate which will raise the Town revenues by $46,005.
The Province’s new Rural Crime Initiative is putting a significant burden onto all small municipalities in Alberta and is something our Town will need to be addressing for the next several years. The first invoice received represents a new $42,866 expense to our budget this year. This new policing invoice is scheduled by the Province to increase each year until 2024 where the Town’s estimated future cost for this initiative will be $128,695. Additionally, Chief Mountain Regional Solid Waste Commission has raised their requisition rates across their service area for 2021 by 5.9% increasing their invoice to the Town by $3,751.
Additionally, as part of a standard audit conducted by the Ministry of Municipal affairs in 2018, one of the required outcomes was that the town needed to adjust its minimum tax rates to comply with S. 357 (1) of the Municipal Government Act. This section states that the town may only have one minimum tax rate as opposed to two. To comply we needed to raise the vacant property minimum tax to be the same as the minimum tax for improved property in the 2021 Tax Rate Bylaw.
The Magrath Town Council and administration recognize the high fiduciary responsibility required for handling public funds and have worked creatively and hard to control and manage all other budgetary costs. However, the policing initiative is impossible to absorb into the current budget and together these two increases completely represent the Town of Magrath’s mill rate increase.The Draft bylaw can be found on the website's draft bylaws section, or by simply clicking here.Second and Third Reading of the 2021 Tax Rate Bylaw will be on May 11th and Property Tax Notices for 2021 will be sent out on Friday May 14th.
NOTICE OF PREPARATION OF ASSESSMENT ROLL 2025 Notice is hereby given that the assessment roll of the Town of Magrath made under the provision of the Municipal Government Act, has been prepared and is now open for inspection at the Town office during business hours from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Any person who desires to object to the entry of their name upon the said roll or to the assessed value placed upon any property must, within sixty (60) days from the date of this notice, lodge the complaint(s) on an approved Assessment Appeal form with the Chief Administrative Officer of the Municipality. An appeal fee of $20.00 must be paid at the time the appeal is made. This appeal fee will be refunded if the assessment is altered by the Assessment Review Board. Assessment Appeal forms may be obtained at the Town Office located at 6 North 1 st St West. Dated this 8th day of May 2025. James Suffredine Chief Administrative Officer 2025 Tax Information Property Assessment Notices for the 2025 tax year were mailed out on May 8 th , 2025. This bill covers the period from January 1 through December 31, 2025. If you are not participating in the Tax Installment Prepayment Plan (TIPP), tax payment is due by June 30. A 12% penalty will be applied to all outstanding taxes on July 2 nd and a 2% per month penalty on all outstanding balances will be applied on the 1 st day of each month thereafter. Sign up for TIPP If you would like an automatic way to pay your property tax, you can sign up for the TIPP program. Participation in TIPP means that you don’t have to worry about the payment deadline or late payment penalties. Your taxes are spread over monthly payments, and the amount is withdrawn from your bank account automatically. Contact the Town Office for more information. About Property Assessments Property assessments in Alberta are governed by the Municipal Government Act. Your Notice of Assessment is based on the physical condition of your property as of December 31 of the previous year as well as the valuation of your property as of July 1 of the previous year. All assessed values are completed within these guidelines to ensure fairness and equity using mass appraisal techniques. The purpose of assessment is not to reflect a single sale price but to assess all properties at typical market value on the same valuation date so that taxation is fairly and uniformly shared. The Town of Magrath has contracted a qualified accredited assessor who performs this function based on provincial legislation and regulations. How Market Value is Determined Market value, as defined in the MGA, 1 (n), means “the amount that a property might be expected to realize if it is sold on the open market by a willing seller to a willing buyer.” Market value assessments are done using mass appraisal techniques, which determine property values by grouping similar properties as of July 1, of the previous year. Some of the factors that determine the value of your home include style of house, square footage, lot size, basement finish, walkout, year of construction, overall quality, and location. Unique location influences like mountain and river views naturally lend themselves to an overall higher market value compared to other locations. If you have questions or concerns regarding your property tax assessment, please call Assessor Ryan Vogt with Benchmark Assessment Consultants Inc. at 403-381-0535 to discuss your assessment. Tax Bill Calculations Municipalities levy taxes to help pay for services such as solid waste, FCSS, fire, bylaw enforcement, parks, recreation, libraries, and public works. The Town Council reviews and approves the amount required to fund these services each year. From this amount sources of revenue other than property taxes, such as provincial grants, license fees, and user fees, are subtracted. The balance after that is the amount to be collected through property taxes. To determine the amount of your property tax, the assessed value of your property is multiplied by the combined Mill Rates for the year. A minimum tax of $635 applies to all properties in the Town of Magrath. Payments You can pay your taxes online through banks that offer online payment options. This is an easy process, and we highly encourage you to investigate paying taxes this way, or through TIPP. To pay online, go to your bank’s online payment portal, use the six-digit “account number” shown on the top center of your assessment notice, and pay the amount owing to The Town of Magrath Taxes or The Town of Magrath Utilities. Please pay for just one property at a time. You can contact your bank for more help or information. Alternatively, you may pay online via e-transfer by sending money to payments@magrath.ca (Please note your name and roll number in the memo) You may pay by credit card using OptionPay Services (additional fees will apply) at https://www.magrath.ca/make-a-payment
Irrigation turn on notice.
