ST. PAUL – On April 23, the County of St. Paul was presented with the assessment of designated industrial property (DIP) and non-designated industrial properties within the County – reflecting an increase in property assessments overall.
Assessments are conducted each year for taxation purposes.
Centralized Industrial Property Assessment (CIPA) presented the County’s Designated Industrial Property Assessment. Mike Minard, provincial assessor and CIPA director, said 331 inspections were conducted in the County last year, representing about 47 per cent of industrial properties.
In Alberta, Minard says this year’s provincial roll for both linear and industrial is up to $196 billion – $82.7 billion for linear and $113.4 billion for industrial – an increase of around six per cent from $184 billion last year.
This translates to about $2 billion tax revenue for Alberta municipalities, and $339 million toward the Alberta School Foundation Fund.
In the County of St. Paul, the total designated industrial assessment this year is $777 million, an increase from $763 million in 2023.
Tax holiday ending
Minard also provided some updates that will impact the increase in assessment in the future, such as the expiration of the three-year tax holiday. The tax holiday, announced by the province in 2020, did not tax new wells and pipe assets, which was meant to encourage new industrial development.
“The impact to the County of St. Paul was about [$34.4 million] in assessed value over these past three years,” $2.2 million for pipelines and $32 million for wells, said Minard.
The County will see an influx of new pipes and wells, created over the past three years, to be included in the assessment roll next year.
County of St. Paul Reeve Glen Ockerman asked if the assessed value of wells will depreciate over time, and Minard affirmed, clarifying the depreciation factor is based on production.
“But for the most part, if a well is [operating for more] than one month, it really doesn't get a depreciation amount,” said Minard.
Pipelines do not depreciate in assessed value.
County of St. Paul Coun. Darrell Younghans also asked if power generation technology, like solar panels, depreciates in assessment value. Minard said yes, noting the depreciation schedule for solar is similar to machinery equipment.
Other assessments up too
Accurate Assessment Group Ltd. presented the County’s Non-Designated Industrial Property Assessment for the 2024 Tax Year. Non-DIP classes include residential, non-residential, farmland, and designated industrial properties.
Bob Daudelin, assessment specialist with Accurate, said residential assessments from 2022 to 2023 increased by six per cent, representing a $54 million increase from $976.3 million in 2022 to $1.03 billion in 2023. Most residential properties are inspected on a four-year rotation.
Non-residential assessment increased by $515,440 to $44.9 million in 2023. Farmland assessment relatively remained unchanged at $74.8 million.
The six per cent increase in residential property assessment could be attributed to two factors, according to Daudelin. One is market inflation, and the other is new construction. One per cent of the six per cent was due to construction of new houses or new renovations. The remaining five per cent was due to overall market change.
Daudelin said 79 per cent of non-DIP properties have experienced an increase in assessment over the past few years.
A higher assessment means mill rates will remain similar for the County of St. Paul. Across the board, mill rates this year for the County of St. Paul increased by less than one per cent, according to information from the County.
Ockerman believes the number of people migrating to Alberta and rural areas may reflect the higher increase of residential assessment.
Daudelin agreed. “This isn't a unique situation to the County. You're rural... [and] it appears there is a lot of confidence in rural property.”
