The City of Airdrie stated it will not be communicating the municipal tax increase as a percentage going forward.
According to City officials, the change has been brought forward for several reasons.
“Most importantly because the percentage is misleading,” stated an email from a City of Airdrie spokesperson. “If Calgary increases taxes by five per cent and Airdrie increases taxes by five per cent, residents would assume that is equivalent, when it is actually not equivalent at all for either the amount of dollars that translates to for the municipality or the effect on the residents.”
Compared to other cities in Alberta, the email outlined that a one per cent tax increase in Airdrie adds up to $750,000 while that same one per cent increase adds up to $1,248,420 in St. Albert and $1,712,610 in Lethbridge.
The City stated that using the dollar amount for the average house price when presenting the tax increase is a more transparent and true assessment when it comes to comparing with other municipalities and assessing change in Airdrie over the years.
The City also expressed they had received minimal direct feedback about the change in how the tax increase was presented this year.
“And with any change in the way we do things, we expect there to be some confusion at first,” the city stated in their email.
Airdrie council approved its operating and capital budget on Nov. 20, with an impact of an additional $12.24 per month on the average Airdrie household or $146.91 annually.
The tax increase will generate $5.2 million for the City of Airdrie, of which 55 per cent will go to municipal services and 45 per cent to capital investments.
Read more about the approved budget here.
