“Assessment” is the process of placing an official valuation on a property for taxation purposes – this value is used to calculate the amount of taxes that will be charged to the owner of the property.

“Taxation” is the process of applying a tax rate (mill rate) to a property’s assessed value to determine the taxes payable by the owner of that property. This is based on the budgeted funds required to operate and maintain the municipality for that year.

 “Market Value” is defined in Section 1(n) of Alberta’s Municipal Government Act as:
“….the amount that a property might be expected to realize if it is sold on the open market by a willing seller and buyer.”

The farmland and residential assessment services for Starland County are provided by Regional Assessment Management (RAM).  RAM, along with Independent Municipal Assessment Corporation (IMAC), perform the industrial assessments on behalf of the County.

Inspections are done annually on properties which require an update due to a physical change, a change of ownership, or at the discretion of the assessor.

Calculation of Your Tax Bill

Tax bills are calculated at Starland County based on Council’s policy as to what is necessary to support County services for the upcoming year.  To determine the total amount required to serve the County needs, a total amount is calculated for expenditures, that is reduced by any other sources of revenue, including user fees and grants, to arrive at a property tax amount to offset the difference.

The Tax amount on your Assessment & Tax Notice is for taxes levied from January to December of the current year, and is based on the assessed value of your property as of December 31, 2010.  Starland County’s “Combined Assessment and Tax Notices” include separate tax levies taxed at different rates that make up your total property tax:

1. Municipal Levy – this amount is paid directly to the municipality and pays for municipal infrastructure, facilities, services, programs, and other budgeted items.
2. School Levy – This amount is collected and submitted on behalf of school systems.

Council has worked very hard to adopt a budget that will not result in an increase in property taxes.  Most property tax total mill rates are unchanged from last year’s rate, or have increased at less than 1.0%.  This was accomplished despite a 4.73% increase in the School Foundation fund for non-residential properties (Class 2), and an 84.40% increase in the mill rate for the Senior’s Foundation that affects all property classes.

While there was no change in the mill rate for residential properties, please remember that they are assessed annually at their market value.  Market value is defined as the price a property might reasonably sell for after adequate time and exposure to an open market.  As you might expect, these market values fluctuate throughout the County depending on where the property is located, or if improvements have been made on a specific property.  As such, it is very important that every landowner carefully review thecombined Assessment and Taxation Notice.  If you have a complaint or inquiry regarding your assessment, it is very important that you first talk with the assessor.  Some matters or information may be corrected by contacting the assessor prior to filing a formal complaint.  Please contact our office, and we’ll provide you with the contact information for the appropriate assessor that deals with your property class.

Starland County continues to have a minimum tax of $20.00 per taxable property.  This minimum tax covers the cost of generating, mailing and collecting individual property taxes.

In all cases, you should carefully review the information on the notice to ensure that you understand and agree with the assessment information.  If you have any questions on the assessment of property, it is important that you address these concerns in the first 60 days after receiving your combined tax and assessment notice, and prior to August 23^rd, 2011.  After the appeal period has expired, any assessment changes will not be incorporated until the following year.

Penalty on Overdue Taxes

Due date for tax payment is September 30^th of the current year.  Payment must be made on or before this date to avoid penalty.  If payment is mailed, the envelope must be postmarked by Canada Post no later than September 30^th of the current year.  A postage meter imprint is not acceptable proof of date of mailing.  If the postmark is illegible, the actual date of receipt by Starland County will apply. 

An 8% penalty will be added on October 1, 2011 to all current taxes not paid by the due date.  A further penalty of 10% will be  added to all outstanding taxes on March 1^st,  2012.

When taxes are to be paid by a mortgage company, the owner is responsible to ensure the taxes are paid before the due date.  The owner of the property as of January 1^st in the taxation year is responsible for ensuring that all taxation for the year is paid and must also provide the County Office with notice of any ownership change.

Any property with respect to which the taxes have been in arrears for more than one year is liable to proceedings under the Municipal Government Act and amendments thereto.

Assessment Inquiries & Complaints

The Municipal Government Act was subject to major amendments that became effective for the 2010 taxation year.  Most of the changes relate to how you can access assessment information, the appeal process itself, and it also required Assessment Appeal Board members and staff to obtain mandatory training.   

As there are sweeping changes to these processes, if you have any questions about your property assessment, we encourage you to contact our office.  If we can’t provide the information required, we will provide you with the contact information for our Municipal Assessors, and they will ensure that you understand your property assessment.   

We have also added a number of documents to our website, and these are also available upon request to our office.  These documents will help to explain the property and assessment process:
 

1.  Guide to Property Assessment and Taxation in Alberta

2.  Access to Property Assessment Information

3.  Is Your Property Assessment Fair and Accurate

4.  Filing a Property Assessment Complaint and Preparing For Your Hearing

5.  Assessment Review Board Complaint Form

6.   Assessment Complaints Agent Authorization Form 

Please note that you have until August 23^rd, 2011 to appeal your assessment.  There is a fee of $50.00 for each roll number complaint which must accompany your appeal. Of course, we would encourage you to contact our office and assessor if you have any questions. 

For all linear properties, please note that an assessment review board has no jurisdiction to deal with complaints about assessments.  Linear assessment complaints will be heard by the Municipal Government Board.

 Ongoing Ratepayer Information

All ratepayers within the County receive a complimentary subscription of “The Drumheller Mail”. This is sponsored by Starland County, as a method of keeping residents up-to-date on relevant information regarding  County initiatives, programs, developments, and other important events.   If you are a ratepayer within the County, and are not receiving your subscription of “The Drumheller Mail”, please notify the County Office at 403-772-3793 or email your request to info@starlandcounty.com.

For further information, check out our annual newsletter.