Current Issues - Property Taxes St. Albert's residential property taxes are the highest in the Province.   2010 Property Taxes  NEW! Using the report titled "2010 Residential Property Taxes & Utility Charges Survey", prepared by the City of Edmonton, Planning and Development, dated April 2011, SATA compared the property taxes for a "sample house" in St. Albert, to taxes levied on a similar house in other Alberta municipalities. In order to provide an "apples to apples" comparison, indicative of only municipal levies, SATA excluded from the analysis the education portion of the total tax bill. The comparison is captured in the chart "2010 Residential Property Tax Differentials" linked below.   2010 Residential Property Tax Differentials To illustrate how to interpret the chart, in 2010, the municipal tax levy on the "sample house" in St. Albert was approximately 116% higher than the municipal levy in Calgary, 58% higher than the municipal levy in Edmonton, and 97% higher than the municipal levy in Ft. Saskatchewan. The sample house, is defined as 25 to 30 years old, single detached, three bedroom bungalow with a main floor area of 1,200 square feet, a double car garage and finished full basement, on a 6,000 square foot lot located in an average neighbourhood of the City of Edmonton. These findings are not surprising. Further evidence of St. Albert's high property taxes was provided in an article that appeared in the St. Albert Gazette on April 23rd, 2011 http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20110423/SAG0801/304239981, Along with the article, the author compiled recent data available from Alberta Municipal Affairs showing residential property tax levels for every $100,000 of assessed value. A chart comparing the values for different municipalities can be accessed below:   2010 Residential Property Taxes vs Assessments St. Albert relies heavily on residential property taxes to fund city operations. The chart linked below shows St. Albert's residential property tax levy as a percentage of the total taxes collected by the City in 2009 and 2010, and compares the values to those in other Alberta communities. The balance of tax revenues collected by municipalities is made up of property and business taxes collected from the industrial and commercial sectors.   Residential tax levy comparison If you would like to see how St. Albert's non-residential assessments have declined over the last decade click on the link below. The chart shows St. Albert's non-residential assessments as a percentage of total taxable assessments. As can be seen, because of slowing growth in non-residential assessments, St. Albert's residential property owners and taxpayers have been carrying an increasingly larger share of total property tax revenues collected by the City.   Non-residential assessments chart Taxes and Fees Rising at an Unsustainable Rate It's a fact! St. Albert is the most expensive community to live in Alberta. Over the 7 year period from 2002 to 2009 St. Albert's population increased by 11% and the number of homes increased by 3.3%. At the same time City's revenues from residential and non-residential property taxes increased by an astounding 91.6%! Refer to the chart showing growth in City spending, taxation and fees. Annual increases in municipal spending in St. Albert are not sustainable. Spending levels in St. Albert show that, as a community, we are living beyond our means! Large increases in property taxes and user fees are putting a strain on St. Albert families and businesses. Spending on Core versus Non-Core Needs In recent years City Hall embarked on an ambitious and risky capital spending program. The total cost of Ray Gibbon Drive, Servus Place and Riel Park currently stands at $150 million! Based on the Spring 2010 update, Administration's 10-Year Plan includes over $571 million of new Municipal Capital spending, and almost $249 million of Utilities Capital spending. According to the update only $168 million of the Municipal Capital total is funded, while $403 million is unfunded. The funded and unfunded Utilities Capital budgets are $110 million and $139 million respectively. Council and Administration reminds residents regularly of St. Albert's growing infrastructure deficit. Yet, many of the proposed Municipal Capital Projects are non-core, 'nice-to-have' initiatives. Where will funding for all the needed projects come from? In the face of a large Provincial budget deficit and shrinking grants Council should focus on core needs and not 'nice-to-have' discretionary projects. In addition, more effort must go into setting priorities and realistic spending targets to reduce the property tax burden on St. Albert taxpayers. Following are links to the 10-year Municipal Capital and Utility Capital budgets prepared in 2010: 10 Year Municipal Capital Plan 2011-2020 10 Year Utility Capital Plan 2011-2020 Your Membership is Your VOICE