At least it diverted attention from the state of the roads.
I’m sure it was just a coincidence, but the Town of Okotoks announcing upcoming changes to garbage collection gave residents something else to complain about during the first significant snowfall of the season late last month.
There were some people that voiced their displeasure over both issues, but most of the social media discourse I came across focused on garbage, specifically the decision to pick up black bins every other week starting next spring. The two most common concerns were not being able to fit two weeks’ worth of garbage into a bin and the stench that would emanate, particularly during the heat of the summer, from bins left sitting at the side of the house for two weeks.
They’re both valid concerns, although on the volume front, the idea is to make better use of the blue and green bins to minimize the amount of material that ends up in the black one. The bigger the family, the more judicious it will have to be when sorting in order not to overflow the black bin.
With only two in my household, I don’t anticipate running into any problems by the pending change in collection schedule, so my issue is purely financial. I'm all for a reduction in my utility bill, but I don’t like the idea that by doing so it gave Okotoks council the green light to increase property taxes by 4.8 per cent.
The tax hike amounts to an extra $134 on the average home’s yearly bill, but when utility savings of about $110 are factored in, the net increase to the average home is only about $24. It’s hard to complain too much about paying an extra two bucks a month, but let me give it a try.
The utility bill savings come from a reduction in service and the advent of the Extended Producer Responsibility Program, which shifts the cost of recycling from homeowners and local governments to producers. In other words, council didn’t do a whole lot, except to send the garbage truck out less frequently, to create the savings, but is using the windfall to cushion what’s another substantial tax hike.
Last year, a 4.65 per cent increase translated into an extra $123 on the average home’s property tax bill, while at the same time council pushed the natural gas franchise fee to the max, pulling another $82 from the average natural gas customer.
If you’re counting, that’s about a $340 increase in the last two years or about 12 per cent more coming out of your pocket. Yes, it’s partially offset by utility bill savings, but that doesn’t get around the fact that this year’s tax hike outstrips the rate of inflation and is very likely beyond the salary bump most homeowners have received.
On a related note, as part of its Social Needs Assessment the Town has launched an online survey, the first section of which asks questions about whether Okotoks is affordable. If that’s a legitimate worry for civic leaders, then they could start by keeping a lid on property tax increases.
