At the Regular Council Meeting on Monday, May 5, 2025, the Town of Drumheller Council unanimously approved Bylaw 21.25 – 2025 Property Tax Rate Bylaw. This follows the adoption of the Amended 2025 Operating and Capital Budget, which includes a 4% increase to the municipal portion of the property tax requisition.

The property tax rate bylaw is passed annually to ensure the Town can meet its financial obligations and continue delivering essential services. Property taxes are a primary source of funding for municipal operations, and Council carefully considered the current economic climate, rising service costs, and community priorities in setting the 2025 rate.

“This budget reflects a responsible approach to funding the services our community depends on,” said Councillor Tony Lacher. “While inflation and rising costs affect everyone, we’ve taken steps to minimize the impact on property owners while ensuring we can keep Drumheller moving forward. At the same time, we remain cautious in our outlook. Factors like potential American tariffs on Canadian goods could affect our economy and service costs later in the year. Council will continue to monitor these developments closely.”

How Property Taxes Are Calculated

Each year, properties in Drumheller are reassessed based on market conditions using a wide-scale appraisal system. In accordance with Section 353 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), the 2025 tax rates are based on property values from the 2024 assessment roll.

The mill rate is the amount of tax payable per $1,000 of assessed property value. It’s set separately for residential and non-residential properties and adjusted each year to reflect changes in property values and budget requirements. While assessments may increase, it doesn’t always mean your tax bill will go up by the same amount.

For 2025:

•The average residential property assessment value increased by 13%, but the residential mill rate decreased by 7%.
•The non-residential mill rate remains unchanged from 2024.
2025 Mill Rates
•Residential: 8.43526 (2024 – 9.07376) — a 7% decrease
•Non-Residential: 15.47958 (no change from 2024)

Where Your Taxes Go

The total property tax revenue for 2025 is expected to be approximately $15.3 million. These funds are divided between the municipal portion, which supports local services, and provincial requisitions, which the Town is required to collect on behalf of the Government of Alberta.

Municipal Portion

The municipal portion funds essential services and operations provided by the Town of Drumheller, including but not limited to:

•Emergency and protective services
•Roads, infrastructure, and snow clearing
•Parks, recreation, and cultural programming
•Water and wastewater services
•Economic development and land planning
•General administration and Town facilities

It also includes RCMP policing costs, which the federal and provincial governments determine. While the Town is required to pay these costs from its budget, it has no control over the amount.

•Estimated RCMP Policing Costs for 2025: $2,138,310.00
Government of Alberta Requisitions (Not controlled by the Town)
•Education Property Tax:$3,314,017 (Increase of $518,139 or 18.53% from 2024)
•Designated Industrial Properties (DIP): $4,749.17 (Increase of $1,785 or 60.22% from 2024)
•Drumheller and District Seniors Foundation: $655,359.00 (Decrease of $40,891.00 or 5.80% from 2024, due to the provincial Equalized Assessment issued in November 2024)

Tax and assessment notices were mailed on May 09, 2025. Please contact Town Hall if you have not received your notice by the end of May 16. The property tax payment deadline is August 31, 2025.