Drumheller town council approved the 2016 mill rate on Monday and residents will see a rise in their property taxes this year.

The new residential mill rate, set at 0.0070016 based on an assessment of $960,302,040, is a hike in revenue of 3 per cent.

“It’s the troubled economic times and you want to keep it as close to the line as possible,” said Mayor Terry Yemen after the council meeting Monday.

“The only other option was a reduction in services but we didn’t want to go there.”

The rate had been set at 2 per cent for a long time, and council had worked to tow that line, but “it just wasn’t going to work,” said Mayor Yemen. 

Councillor Jay Garbutt noted that a large portion of the town budget was weighted down with salaries and wages that were increasing on an annual basis.

Councillor Patrick Kolafa also pointed out that the province’s decision to not reinstate grants in lieu of taxes for social house units in their 2016 provincial budget accounts for a portion of the shortfall.

A one per cent increase in taxes is around $83,000 to $85,000 and the grant in lieu of taxes cut by the province was around $63,000.

The 2016 Operating Budget which was previously approved by council on February 22 detailed a 3 per cent increase in municipal property tax requisition. 

On average, the municipal portion of the tax bill will reflect a 3 per cent increase.

For example, a residential property assessed at $200,000 will see a tax bill increase of $66, from $2,060 in 2015 to $2,126 in 2016.

The 2016 Alberta School Foundation Fund (ASFF) requisition decreased by 0.69 per cent, so most residential taxpayers will see a decrease in the ASFF levy amount on their tax notice. 

While you can’t appeal your taxes, you may appeal your property assessment. This must be done within 60 days of the mailing date of the tax notice. More information can be found on the town’s website, www.dinosaurvalley.com

It was a weekend of charity success stories, and the MS Walk in Drumheller is celebrating another excellent year in a community that has been a perennial supporter.

Over 125 walkers and volunteers came out early Sunday morning to the Badlands Community Facility for the 2016 Jayman Built MS Walk in Drumheller, raising just over $22,000 for the cause. 

“We can’t thank Drumheller for the support they’ve given us,” said MS Walk organizer Calan Edgar.

The walk had a goal of $61,500 but fund raising for the event has been down across the board in Canada. 

“We had similar numbers of walkers as we normally do, but it’s just the times now,” said Edgar, but reminded that participants have until June 3 for all fundraising dollars to count towards prizing, and that the MS Society accepts donations all year round.

Participants can ask for donations to be made online, mail them into the MS Society offices, or drop donations off to representatives who will be back at the BCF on June 8 from 4 to 7 p.m. to pick up any more pledges and to distribute prizes to this year’s top fundraisers.

The top five online participants this year were Justine Wilton ($1,645), Lisa Keough ($1,570), Teagan Adamcewicz ($1,370), Lee Johnston ($995), and Randi Andrew ($970).

The top online team contributers were Rudolph’s (Frank Laslo’s) Team ($2,830), Stand By Me ($2,064), MS Smashers ($1,875), The Johnston’s ($1,580), and Dwayne’s Dudes ($1,416).