Crowsnest Pass, How do we compare?

For those that love numbers, how do we compare as a community to other communities of relative size to ourselves financially.

The following are numbers we were provided with at our first budget meeting last night. (Next meeting is in Council chambers on March 6 2pm to discuss 2014 Capital Projects).

CNP compared to the following 18 communities (2012 numbers used):

Pincher Creek, Claresholm, Raymond, Grande Cache, Barrhead, Vermillion, Westlock, Didsbury, Jasper, Redcliff, Stettler, Vegreville, St Paul, Wainwright, Devon, Peace River, Blackfalds, Ponoka.

Population wise they all between 3,600 and 6,800 residents:

Equalized Assessment per Capita: CNP had an average assessment of $169,142 per resident second highest in the list to only Jasper.

Cost of Interest and Banking per Capita:   CNP $7 the average of the group $43

Cost of Materials, Goods, Supplies and Utilities Per Capita:  CNP $497  the average of the group $401

Cost of Contracted and General Services Per Capita:  CNP $621 with the average of the group being $479

Cost of Salaries, Wages and Benefits Per Capita: CNP $937 with the average of the group being $720

Major Expenditures Per Capita by Broad Function:

General Government CNP $386  Average $264
Protective Services CNP $267  Average $232
Transportation CNP $872  Average $498
Environment CNP $521 Average $519
Recreation CNP $448  Average $425

Revenue Source Per Capita, Sales and User Fees:

CNP $712  Average $675

Revenue Source Per Capita, Grants:

CNP $936  Average $482

Revenue Source Per Capita, Net Municipal Property Taxes:

CNP $1,218  Average $874

Long Term Municipal Debt per Capita:

CNP $211  Average $1,066

Tax Collection Rates:

CNP 92.4%   Average 97.4%

Equalized Assessment Per Capita:

CNP $169,142  Average $117,601

Equalized Tax Rate Residential:

CNP 9.4%  Average 9.3%

Equalized Tax Rate Non Residential:

CNP 13.2% Average 14.1%

The Price we pay.

Well received my 2012 Property Assessment and Tax Notice today.
Couldn't open the envelope fast enough to see if the 2.5% tax increase was real or not.
First of all my assessment went down $1420 on a $327,000 property a difference of less than half a percent so a virtual non factor.
So I took last years taxes $2,721 times 2.5%, I should be looking at a tax increase of $68.03 shockingly my taxes went up to $2,873 a difference of $152. My trusty calculator tells me that is an increase of  5.6%? why am I surprised? have we been misled?

Will be interesting to see what other people have experienced?

Municipal Lots in the Crowsnest Pass:

On September 6, 2011 Councilor Mitchell made the following motion which was passed unanimously by council.

M#6248 -11:
Councillor L. Mitchell moved to authorize Administration to reduce the price of
the listed Municipal residential lots by 10% as of September 6, 2011 and remove
the two year building commitment requirement from any future sale of municipal
residential lots.

First impression of this, is it’s not a big deal.

Let me raise the concerns I struggled with on previous council:

Should the municipality be selling lots in competition with the private sector especially in a era where the real estate market is not exactly booming?

The municipality only possesses a relatively small amount of residential lots. Why not sell them in a strong market when you can realize the maximum value for the taxpayers assets?

The argument was made by the proponents of this initiative that if the municipality sold these lots with a requirement that the purchaser must build within two years. A condition that private developers did not require, the municipality would potentially create some much needed tax base.

Well with this motion there is no pressure on a purchaser to build any time soon how many times have we seen lots sit vacant year after year in the Crowsnest Pass.

Maybe that legal requirement is not enforceable, if that's the case don’t give the lots away save them for better times.

What’s going to happen when the assessments come out next June? if I owned a vacant lot in the Pass and it was assessed for more than $70,000 I would be appealing that based on the bench mark price set by the Municipality itself.

Something to think about.