Hussar village council held a special meeting on Thursday, May 18 to make amendments to its 2023 Operating budget due to a miscalculation of the provincial school tax requisition, which would impact pending tax notices.
Council previously passed its 2023 Operating budget and tax rate bylaw during the May 11 council meeting; however, due to the miscalculation, a special meeting was called to amend the budget and pass a revised tax rate bylaw.
“We rescinded the motions from the earlier meeting and passed the updated Operating budget and Tax Bylaw according to proper procedure,” explains Hussar Mayor Les Schultz.
The finalized budget showed the Alberta School Foundation Fund (ASFF) calculation was actually lower than initially passed by $478.79 and totalled $40,808.73 for residential and farmland, and non-residential properties.
Total assessment values were up slightly over the previous year, with a total assessment for all property types valued at $16,554,390 compared to $16,145,310 in 2022.
Council passed the total combined mill rate, which includes the provincial school requisition and requisition to the Wheatland Housing Management Body (WHMB), of 12.85703 for residential and farmland properties, and 15.61601 for non-residential properties. The combined residential mill rate is down slightly, from 14.4721 in 2022, while the combined non-residential mill rate is up slightly from 14.8263.
“This was achieved by a lot of hard work and late nights by council in trimming the budget and still bringing quality service to our residents,” Mayor Schultz says. “There was also an increase in our MSI (Municipal Sustainability Initiative) operating grant that helped as well.”
While Mayor Schultz notes every situation is different, he says some residents may see as much as a $400 reduction to their tax bill this year.
