Town aims to better balance residential, non-residential tax base

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Town of Strathmore is aiming to establish a more balanced tax ratio between residential and non-residential properties.

A bylaw to amend the town’s Municipal Development Plan (MDP) was passed during the June 18 regular meeting of council. 

Glen Fergusen, senior planner with the Town of Strathmore, explained the amendment establishes two new policies in the MDP.

“The town’s 2024 Q3 corporate quarterly report carried over support from previous quarterly reports for establishing a residential to non-residential tax assessment ratio target,” he said. “The two policies [will] be added to the MDP in a very broad and general sense, aimed to enhance the town’s financial sustainability, (and) it (will) reduce reliance on residential property assessments.”

What Fergusen described as “spin-off” benefits to the town include stimulation of local economic development through job creation and investment which coincides with non-residential development.

The core of the amendment includes an added policy to encourage new development within new or existing area structure plans, striving to hit a 60:40 residential to non-residential assessment ratio.

It also includes a policy to target an overall municipal-wide ratio of 70:30 of total residential to non-residential development.

“I am really in favour of this because it is something that will really assist us in promoting the long-term economic stability of the town and, for as long as I have lived in Strathmore and probably for as long as Strathmore has existed, the residential tax base has borne the majority of the burden in terms of our growth, our sustainability, the services we have had to provide,” said Coun. Denise Peterson. “Being able to implement this change and bringing us hopefully from an 80:20 split in residential to non-residential to eventually a 70:30, is something that will create great opportunities in terms of long-term economic stability and it will offer predictability as well to future development in the community.”

Mayor Pat Fule explained the Town of Strathmore has struggled in the last 15 years to attract major industry and supported the amendment with hopes to see the local tax base improved and overall, more balanced. 

“When I first got on council, it was explained to me by a veteran councillor that the Town of Strathmore had intentionally planned to ensure that the non-residential was quite a bit lower than the residential as a means of attracting industry,” he said. “I do not know if that was all that successful … I think it is an initiative that can go a long way to try to improve the tax assessment base.” 

A motion to pass the bylaw amending the municipal development plan was passed unanimously by council.