The 2023 municipal tax rates will see an average increase of 3.55 percent.
The choice was made unanimously by Cold Lake City Council during the May 23 regular meeting.
The 2023 residential tax rate was set at 8.4948, down from 8.7765 in 2022, the multifamily residential tax rate was set at 9.0819, up from 8.9312 and the non-residential tax rate was set at 13.1707, up from 12.7760 in 2022.
With these rates, the city is estimated to generate about $22.19 million from properties within the city to balance the City’s $54.82 million operational budget. In 2022, the City’s operating budget stood at $52.85 million and the municipality collected $21.37 million in taxes to balance its budget. The 2023 Operating Budget includes a transfer to capital projects of $6.4 million.
Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland says inflation was a major factor when it came to this year’s budget deliberations.
“Council kept a balanced and disciplined approach to the budget, which helped keep our tax rate relatively low and saved our residents from a major tax hike.”
Council passed the 2023 Operational Budget on December 13, 2022, in the amount of $54,821,629.
The City receives $32,630,050 from a combination of sales and user charges, government transfers (including ID349 and ICF), penalties, franchise agreements, investment income, and rentals. The city must generate the remaining to balance the budget.
The tax rate is a factor used per $1,000 of property value to determine the amount of taxes a property pays for municipal services. The taxes are based on the assessment which means a tax rate increase or decrease does not necessarily mean an increase or decrease in the amount of municipal tax a property owner will pay compared to previous years.
The impact on each property will differ depending on the change in assessment and tax rates.
Tax notices were sent out Friday, May 26, 2023, with a payment deadline of June 30, 2023.
