ATHABASCA – Over 400 rural properties in Athabasca County are going to see a sharp rise in their assessment values after being reclassified to residential properties by the municipalities assessor.
Representatives from Accurate Assessment Group, Athabasca County’s new real estate assessor, updated councillors on the new details during the normal council meeting March 27. The total assessment value increased by $900 million, rising from $2.6 to $3.7 billion year-to-year, with roughly $440 million of the increase taxable. The rest is covered by a $500 million increase in exempt properties.
“There’s some pretty alarming numbers here — the residential assessment base is increasing almost 30 per cent. That’s a result of increased values due to market transactions, it’s a result of changing status of properties,” said Troy Birtles, who gave the presentation.
“In those cases, property owners are going to see a massive increase in their tax bill. It doesn’t matter if you reduce your tax rates or not, they’re going to see a massive increase.”
Birtles said the classifications, which are set by provincial regulations, require farmland to include the raising, production, or sale of an agricultural property. If a parcel is worth $200,000 but it’s being used to fence and graze cattle, Birtles said the assessment would be around $20,000, so the tax implications are large.
In Athabasca County, Birtles said over 400 properties were reclassified, and a letter was sent out notifying property owners of the change.
“Horses are generally pets in Alberta; there are cases where you can raise them as livestock and sell them for meat but it doesn’t happen in Alberta. A 15-acre parcel with Suzy’s pet horse on it, unfortunately that’s not farming,” said Birtles.
“A handful of chickens, that’s not farming. If you have a barn with 2,000 hens or chickens, well now you’re a chicken farmer. There’s a few things that come into play that help us determine if its farm or market.”
Non-residential properties increased as well, which Birtles attributed to more small businesses coming forward to take advantage of Athabasca County’s new small business tax rate.
In total, 4,239 properties will see no change in their assessment — Birtles said these are regulated farmland parcels — 801 will see a one-to-10 per cent increase, 1,318 will see a 10-25 per cent increase, and 2,328 properties will see a 25-100 per cent increase. Some 1,176 properties will see assessments decrease by varied amounts.
Tough decisions
The next step for county councillors will be to take the assessment data and decide what the tax rate will be for 2025. Reeve Tracy Holland said administration is doing a lot of work to get ready for that decision, one she said councillors take very seriously.
“We have a lot of difficult decisions to make, there’s no doubt. I’m quite sure administration will provide us with the scenarios we need to make decisions to try and lessen that impact as much as we possibly can,” she said.
“This is not the fun part of being on council, but we have to do the best that we can and make sure everyone is treated fairly, and that we’re fiscally responsible for our future.”
Properties owners who disagree with their assessment have 60 days from the time the notice is sent to formally complain about any changes, which Holland encouraged any disgruntled residents to do.
“We’re all here to hear them, we’re all here to listen. We’re definitely not going to ignore people,” she said, although she stressed residents should contact the assessment company first, since the county isn’t involved in the process.
“They’ve been doing a great job, and as they mentioned in their presentation, they’re open and there for anybody who would like to contact them and discuss any of these concerns.”
