New laws and decisions are making property taxes go up
Across Alberta municipalities are facing growing costs that are created outside our control. Decisions by the provincial and federal governments have increased costs for municipal governments, including Okotoks, without always providing funding to cover them.
New rules and responsibilities download costs, shift responsibilities, and put added pressure on municipal budgets and, ultimately, on property taxes.
Here are some examples:
- Municipal elections: In 2024, a new provincial law made local elections more expensive to run. Municipal governments can no longer use machines to count paper voting ballots. The Town of Okotoks had to cover additional expenses related to staffing, training, compliance, and administration, even though these requirements were set by the province. This increased the Town's election delivery costs by approximately $80,000.
- Policing costs: Okotoks contracts policing services through the RCMP. Decisions made about wages, staffing levels, equipment and gear directly affect local policing costs, which the Town must absorb within its budget.
- Non-Profit Support: When non-profit groups lose provincial funding; they often ask their municipal government for money. If council wants to keep those services in their community, they may use municipal property taxes to support those non-profit groups.
While these decisions are made at the provincial level, municipalities are responsible for delivering the services, managing the impacts, and balancing their budgets. This challenge is not unique to Okotoks — it is affecting towns and cities across Alberta as councils work to maintain local services with limited revenue tools.
