TREENA MIELKE/Rimbey Review
Taxpayers in Rimbey can look forward to digging a little deeper into their pockets to pay their taxes this year.
Last year an average residential tax bill was $1,614.56 with the municipal portion coming at $1,194.16, the school portion amounting to $412.32 and Rimoka Seniors Foundation charges amounting to $8.08.
This year that bill would be $76.84 higher with the municipal portion coming in at $1,233.76, the school portion amounting to $439.95 and the Rimoka Senior Foundation charges coming in at $17.69.
Assistant CAO Ryan Maier said these figures are only an average assessment and depending on whether individual assessments went up or down, the percentage increases will be different.
At a special meeting May 4, council established a residential mill rate of 9.17, a 4.4-per-cent increase from last year, and a non-residential mill rate of 12.07 that shows an increase of five per cent over last year.
CAO Tony Goode said the lion’s share of the increase in the mill rate was due to the three-per-cent rise in municipal taxes. Assessment changes and larger debenture payments account for the remainder of the increase.
“This year we had new debt and interest payments came on stream from borrowing that took place last year. To cover those costs we eliminated the tax incentive program, imposed a slight tax increase and made some cuts in the budget.”
This year, the Rimoka Seniors Foundation requisition to the town went from $11,640 to $25,354 and the residential school foundation bill went from $424,849 to $478,876. The non-residential school requisition jumped from $201,180 to $220,855.