The City of North Battleford has passed its 2013 mill rate bylaws.
Two bylaws - one to establish mill rate factors and the second to authorize levying the tax rate, phasing-in over two years of taxes for a specific class or subclass (in this case commercial) and establishing a minimum tax/base tax were both passed at Monday's council meeting.
Also passed was a bylaw to establish the manner of collection, discounts and penalties of current tax levies. That bylaw stated that for 2013 only, penalties will not accrue or be charged on current levies owing for 2013.
All three bylaws passed by a 6-0 vote in three readings.
Notable by his absence during the vote was Trent Houk. He had voted against adopting the 2013 budget at a prior meeting, but due to the length of the meeting, Houk was forced to leave due to prior commitments, and did not cast a vote during the final bylaw vote.
The final vote on the mill rate is the final step in the city budget process for 2013.
It follows on council's earlier approval and adoption of its 2013 operations, utilities and capital budget as well as its approval of bylaws setting water, sewer and sanitation rates. The City had voted to raise revenues by 4.99 percent.
Director of Finance Matthew Hartney provided a presentation on some of the important changes making an impact on taxes in 2013 to council prior to the mill rate votes.
According to numbers presented, the levy required last year amounted to $7,803,936. That number goes up to $8,209,134 in the 2013 budget. However, 2013 was a reassessment year throughout the province, meaning assessed values had gone up right across North Battleford. What was a taxable assessment in North Battleford of $415,984,821 in 2012 is now $781,102,601.
That meant an adjustment in the mill rate downward to achieve a revenue-neutral status, followed by a further tweak to take into account the levy increase. A general mill rate of 18.760 in 2012 turns into a 10.510 general mill rate in the 2013 mill rate bylaws.
As a result, the average impact on taxes for the various property classes based on property values of $100,000 are as follows: commercial and industrial taxes go up to $3,908 from $3,783; multifamily with four apartments would go up from $2,837 to $2,964; residential would go up from $1,502 to $1,576; while condominiums would actually go down from $1,502 to $1,446.
How tax bills will ultimately look will vary from property to property depending on a variety of factors, such as location, property class and other factors. In his presentation to councillors Monday, Hartney explained some residents will see their taxes go up; others will see a decrease.
Because of the significant changes in the property assessment values, the City has implemented a number of measures as part of the mill rate bylaws, to ease the stress for residents and businesses in the community.
One measure taken is to phase in the commercial tax increase over a two-year period.
A second measure is to provide more time for residents to pay. No penalties will be applied to current taxes for the year, but the request for payment will be 60 days on notice.
The third measure is with respect to the Recreation Culture Capital Facilities levy that has funded the construction of the Credit Union CUPlex. There will be no increase to the $175 per door RCCF levy this year.
Further changes also include an increase in the base tax from $593 to $615 for residential properties to pay for police and fire, and an increase in the minimum tax to $308, which would equate to half the base tax. That compares to one-third where it was set before.
The revenue split for 2013 is 62 per cent to 38 per cent residential-commercial. The RCCF split is a 70 per cent - 30 per cent split for residential and multifamily compared to others.
For the residential base tax, 65 per cent is allocated to protective services - police and fire.
Those seeking more information about the mill rates and all the changes can contact City Hall or seek out more information from the City's website at www.cityofnb.ca.
