News

County Deeply Concerned by Proposed Assessment Changes

Rocky View County is adding its voice to the growing list of municipalities objecting to proposed Alberta Government changes to the assessment model for oil wells, pipelines, and machinery and equipment.

The Province is considering changing how oil and gas property is assessed, from the current model of asset replacement value to a new model of market value. Under the four possible scenarios being considered, Rocky View County would lose hundreds-of-millions of dollars in assessed value in oil and gas properties.

“That could mean a 6.9 to 8 percent property tax increase for every resident and business owner in the County in 2021,” says Rocky View County Reeve Greg Boehlke. “That’s particularly significant because rural municipalities don’t have a lot of fluff in their budgets. Our money goes to roads, policing, and fire services. We’ll be forced to either cut important core services or pass on substantial tax increases in these challenging times.”

Reeve Boehlke says the County appreciates the work the Province has done to support the energy sector, but changes to the assessment model represent a step too far.

“We’ve seen the Province download costs to municipalities, take a bigger share of municipal revenue, and now we’re being asked to forgo revenue from our largest industry. We’re fully supportive of Alberta’s work to open markets, build pipelines, cut red tape, and improve the oil and gas industry’s positive profile. But we are deeply concerned about changes that shift costs onto average taxpayers and business owners.”

Rocky View County Council is contacting area MLAs and government ministers to express its concerns in advance of the final decision, expected in mid-August. The County is encouraging residents and business owners to share their views on this issue by contacting their MLA.

Honourable Kaycee Madu
Minister of Municipal Affairs
Minister.municipalaffairs@gov.ab.ca

Honourable Leela Aheer
Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women, and MLA for Chestermere-Strathmore
Chestermere.Strathmore@assembly.ab.ca

Honourable Nathan Cooper
Speaker, and MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills
Airdrie.Cochrane@assembly.ab.ca

Pete Guthrie
MLA for Airdrie-Cochrane
Airdrie.Cochrane@assembly.ab.ca

Angela Pitt
MLA for Airdrie-East
Airdrie.East@assembly.ab.ca

Miranda Rosen
MLA for Banff-Kananaskis
Banff.Kananaskis@assembly.ab.ca

Posted in: News & Updates

Media Inquiries

Communications & Engagement 
media@rockyview.ca
403-520-6280

Topics

Social Media