Claresholm Town Council passed the 2025 Property Tax Rate Bylaw, during the May 12 regular meeting.
Property taxes are a primary source of revenue to support municipal operations and services.
According to the report to council, there are reductions to the majority of tax rates, however, ratepayers can expect an increase on their tax notices, due to an increase in overall funding for tax support and requisitions.
Property taxes for the 2025 taxation year have been calculated using the property assessment values from 2024.
In April, council passed the final 2025 Budget, representing a 6.17 per cent municipal tax increase.
Contributing factors for the increase include inflation, and the loss of operating grant funding that offset the cost of staffing for Family and Community Support Services (FCSS), and Economic Development.
In addition to an increase in the budget, the assessed property values have also increased due to inflation, market values, and residential and commercial growth.
The residential assessment increased by about 14.8 per cent, and 5.3 per cent for non-residential, resulting in a municipal tax rate decrease.
Under the bylaw, the municipal portion of the residential tax rates is down by 6.5 per cent, and 3.4 per cent for non-residential rates.
Along with municipal tax rates, the town must levy taxes to fund external requisitions including the Alberta School Foundation Fund (ASFF) and the Porcupine Hills Lodge Foundation (PHL).
The total tax rate including requisitions is down by 4.4 per cent for residential and 1.4 per cent for non-residential.
The education requisition increased by 15 per cent, representing over $200,000.
The PHL requisition is up 5.3 per cent, representing $10,750. However, due to the increase in assessment values, the tax rate will decrease by 11 per cent for both residential and non-residential for 2025.