Opinion: Stop downloading expenses onto Alberta’s municipalities

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Given all the rhetoric related to solidarity, tariffs occurring in today’s society and multiple other black swans, I want to assert that the right to exist in municipalities is bound by the actions of the provincial government.

For example, I will take the final download (except to pouring bridges on us) that existed in the history of the city of Alberta. 2024 – 25 police funded models have been updated to Ponoka County for $776,302. Ponoka Prefecture has a population of 10,428 in 2024, with the cost of $74.44 per person. Importantly, when the police funding model was created, the service did not change anything, however, this is another number of words I have spoken over the long time.

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But wait, we are not talking about per capita here; instead, we are talking about assessments. So, that’s where it’s stupid. Ponoka County’s tax bill is $21 million, based on a $3.7 billion assessment. Now, if you have ever been to Ponoka Prefecture, you will know that our farmland is what we look like, with beautiful rolling hills, fat cows, wheat fields and canola seeds. The municipal tax on farmland we evaluated was $639,150 and the residence was $4,112,522. This time, the number of police downloads is 112% of farmland and 16% of residential taxes. I want that to sink.

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More importantly, linear evaluation – Tax tax on properties with distribution networks (such as pipelines) (45% of total taxes in Ponoka Prefecture) – This kind of policing download also affects the disproportionate impact of crime on pipelines. I did a search and there were very few burglaries in one of the work pipelines in Alberta.

Pipeline pays school tax – It makes total sense because they have Pioneer Pipeline pay off the education tax on the same day. Remember those small school buildings full of small desires to learn? The fact is that the pipeline represents $3.5 million in real estate education tax schools, or a total of 30% of the $9.7 million collected by the province’s education. Another example of PTAR.

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What is PTAR? Property tax assessment regression rate.

Property tax is a return tax because it is based on the value of the property rather than the taxpayer’s income. Property taxes are not appropriately designed for downloading other fees and are hardly able to meet the municipality’s road and bridge needs. More importantly, the provincial government knows this and still downloads costs, cuts transfers and actions without the care obligations associated with oil and gas property taxes.

When you get taxes related to your activity, the impact on your infrastructure is better addressed and they are withdrawn (for example, the well drilling tax we use to fix roads damaged by intense drilling activities).

Now, I focus on the solution, so this is the solution. Change our assessment plan, stop downloading and staying overall. This is how you can keep bridges and roads well maintained in rural Alberta to contribute to GDP and bring goods to market.

Do you want to develop Alberta’s economy in rural Alberta? Stay away from our path. In my 18-year-old position, I have never been considered a child of the provincial government so far. So far, I have never seen a large number of provincial downloads.

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Enjoy your personal tax cut, Alberta; check out your municipal property tax to see where this money comes from. Quoting the Cathedral to the municipality of Alberta: “They don’t need to be satisfied with the decisions we make.”

Oh, wait. Yes, they did. Stop downloading.

Paul McLauchlin is the fifth councillor of Ponoka County, Reeve, and former president of rural Alberta cities. He runs an environmental consulting firm on the farm north of Rimbey.

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