Town cuts property taxes to offset higher assessment values and school tax

Posted on May 8, 2025 by Taber Times

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Taber’s 2025 operating budget was approved by town council on April 28. After the April 14 council meeting in which council directed the administration to ask for adjustments to the proposed budget, it came back to the table with a number of changes.

 The finance department made adjustments including: adding a two per cent increase to net tax revenue, removing the operating contingency, removing the 27th pay period, and removing the contracted services expense for ORRSC. It also removed the director of recreation, the planning assistant, and the finance intern positions. It added a director of planning position.

 The changes resulted in a cumulative surplus of $567,392, which was added to contributions to reserves.

 The 2025 budget approvals occurred in the absence of former Chief Financial Officer John Orwa, whose departure from the Town was confirmed, if not explained, by CAO Derrin Thibault.

 “(He) is no longer with the Town of Taber, though the Town can provide no further details as we do not discuss personnel matters publicly. The Town does wish Mr. Orwa well in his future endeavours,” Thibault said in a statement to the Times.

 When asked who was assuming Orwa’s role, Thibault said, “We have an interim Director of Finance, Rob Osmond, who has been acting in the role for about two weeks and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.”

 Osmond explained the budget changes to council, and said, “The version of the operating budget in front of you includes a two per cent increase in tax revenue, the alternative would reduce that (to one per cent).”

 “So you’re saying an increase to tax revenue, not an increase to taxes,” Coun. Brewin queried. “Are we collecting more taxes from more properties?”

 “We’ve reduced that amount because we know the assessments are driving that revenue,” Osmond answered.

   The Times previously reported that at the April 14 town council meeting, Lance Wehlage from Benchmark Assessment Consultants told council that 2024’s assessed property values increased overall from the year prior. The values directly impact the 2025 tax year.

 “I think we’re in the business of collecting as minimal taxes as we possibly can (and) still have a responsible, workable budget,” Coun. Bekkering said.

 After a good deal of discussion, Coun. Sorensen got the ball rolling with a motion that council approve the 2025 operating budget with an amendment to reduce tax revenue by $115,000 by reducing the transfer to reserves. The motion was carried on a 6-1 vote.

 Days after the council meeting, when it came time to explain municipal and provincial taxation in layman’s terms, Taber’s Communications Manager Meghan Brennan intervened to clarify the hows and whys of the budget.

 She confirmed that the assessments for this tax year went up by 11.2 per cent on average for a single family home. Every assessment is different, so the Town simplifies by using an overall average.

The Province sets the rate and collects a provincial school tax from each municipality. Brennan forwarded a taxes brochure available to all residents that outlines in broad strokes where tax dollars are allocated. In 2025, the school tax rate for single-family homes will increase by 0.44 per cent, but the Province will requisition the Town for almost $3.7 million – a 14.5 per cent increase. The brochure explained that the increase is ‘masked’ by the higher property value assessments and the attendant higher revenues.

 “To cushion that huge increase, and the double-whammy of the increased School Tax, council chose to lower our tax rate by 10.507 per cent so the public wouldn’t get hit with a triple raise,” she explained about the rate dropping from about 8.0 to 7.1 per cent.

 “So while taxpayers may see an increase in their tax bills this year, it is due to the other two, not the municipal rate. Council’s lowering of the municipal tax rate essentially cushioned the large increase in assessments as much as we possibly could without cutting essential services.”

 The tax brochure, a simplified and layman-friendly document, will be sent out with tax notices or is available from the Town.