The proposed 2025 Alberta budget has seen mixed reactions from municipal leaders since its introduction in late February.
One recurring and irksome issue stuck out to Okotoks Mayor Tanya Thorn.
The province has touted an income tax cut, but Thorn feels a tax hike present in the budget is being swept under the rug.
Budget 2025 includes an increase to the education property tax, which municipalities are required to collect along with other property taxes.
"They've cut income tax, great, but there's about a 22 per cent increase in the education property tax. It feels a little bit disingenuous to me, and that's the challenge, because, as municipalities, we deliver the message," says Thorn. "It comes out on a Town of Okotoks bill, but when we submit that property tax bill, about a third of that bill goes to the province."
Thorn says she understands the rationale, with investments in new schools and staff to accommodate ever-increasing enrollment, but she doesn't think those education tax dollars are distributed evenly.
"The original impetus of it was that we would collect this education requisition on behalf of the province, and we would receive a similar amount of money in grants and support from the province. That is not reality anymore. Okotoks, I think last year we sent about $16.7 million in education property taxes. This year it's going to be about $21 million and we don't get anywhere near that kind of dollar amount back."
She was disappointed that Budget 2025 didn't include construction funding for the long-requested 338 Avenue interchange, and while Okotoks has seen investment in the last few years, she doesn't think those investments align with the amount of property taxes Okotokians have been facing.
"Okotoks has been lucky in the last couple of years. We've gotten funding for a water pipeline, so there's been provincial support for that, which we're very appreciative for, we've been approved for the new high school site, they're doing a rebuild for the Good Shepherd Site, that was last year. So we're seeing some investments in our community, but over the whole 10-year period it doesn't really mirror what our community has submitted for education in terms of what we've gotten back in terms of grants and support for infrastructure projects."
According to Thorn, the town often receives flak from residents who aren't aware that a large portion of those taxes are being collected for the Province.
It's only compounded by the higher-than-average property assessments that have driven property taxes in Okotoks up in recent years.
"Because Okotoks is seeing significant assessment growth, higher than the average of the rest of the province, it means a resident in Okotoks is paying more for education than a resident in any other community... From my perspective, the property tax can't support the investment that needs to be made in education. It's a regressive tax and I just don't think that that's where it is. Also, it's something that the province is collecting, so put it on the income tax bill or collect it yourself. If you want to collect it on property tax, you send the bill."
Thorn is pleased to see the return of the Grants in Place of Taxes program, which does ease the burden on taxpayers while investing in municipalities.
"The province owns properties in municipalities that require the same services as you do as a homeowner or a business owner, but we don't charge the province property taxes. So the Grants in Place of Taxes was 'You would charge us $10,000, we'll give you a grant in some form back into the community for that.' A few years ago, they cut that, so that means homeowners in the communities are covering their share of the services they take advantage of."
The program wouldn't have much of an impact in Okotoks, with the only provincial property being the courthouse, and that the program stands to contribute much more to bigger municipalities like Edmonton and Calgary.