Fire-affected Jasper tax base reduced by approximately $2.25 million

Jasper residential property owners may see slightly lower overall property tax bills for 2026 due to reductions in provincial and other requisitions, although the municipal portion of taxes is still increasing.

Property tax bills contain two separate components: the municipal portion, which funds municipal services and operations; and requisitions, which the Municipality collects on behalf of other organizations such as the Province for education funding, and the Evergreens Foundation for seniors’ housing.

This year, both the provincial education requisition and the Evergreens requisition rates decreased. For many residential properties in Jasper, those reductions are large enough to more than offset the increase in the municipal portion of taxes, resulting in a slightly lower total tax bill overall.

“To be completely transparent with the public, municipal taxes are going up in 2026,” CAO Bill Given told council on Tuesday (May 19). “But that effect is offset by the reduction in the requisitions.”

When including requisitions, a residential urban property assessed at $800,000 would be taxed $4,208, which is $287 less than last year. A non-residential urban property assessed at $10 million would be taxed $165,908, which is $3,398 more than last year.

Requisition explanation

The Government of Alberta allocates education requisitions based in part on each municipality’s share of the province’s overall equalized assessment base. Because Jasper lost a significant amount of taxable assessment due to destroyed properties, the community now represents a smaller share of the province-wide assessment base than it did previously.

While the Province increased the total provincial education requisition by about $500 million, or 16 percent, for 2026, Jasper’s share of that requisition has decreased.

In Jasper, residential urban property assessed at $800,000 would pay approximately $4,208 in total property taxes in 2026, which is $287 less than last year. A non-residential urban property assessed at $10 million would pay approximately $165,908, which is $3,398 more than last year.

During the meeting, council gave first and second reading to the tax rate bylaw. It will need to give third reading at a future meeting for the bylaw to go into effect. Given said the mill rates might not be final, since administration was still waiting to hear back from the municipality’s assessor.

This year’s budget calls for a seven per cent tax increase. Out of the $41.7 million in expenditures, municipal taxes cover $12.6 million, including $379,000 to the Alberta government for policing, while grants and user fees cover the rest.

Natasha Malenchak, director of finance and administration, estimated the Municipality lost $2.25 million in tax revenue this year because of property loss during the Jasper wildfire.

If the bylaw goes forward as is, leaseholders will see $253 in municipal taxes for every $100,000 in assessed value for residential urban properties and $12,631 per $1 million in assessed value for non-residential urban properties.

The Municipality will also requisition $6.3 million for the Alberta School Foundation Fund, $6,300 for designated industrial property tax and just over $1 million for the Evergreens Foundation toward seniors’ housing.

While the reduction in requisitions may cause a slight decrease in residential taxes, non-residential taxes would not decrease overall, since the Municipality taxes them at a higher rate. It maintains a five-to-one tax ratio between non-residential and residential properties.

Paul Butler, executive director of the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce, told council that the chamber has long spoken out against the ratio.

“I’d say there seems to have been no rationale for this ratio aside from the fact that it’s the maximum allowed under Alberta law,” Butler said. “No structural rationale for a five-to-one ratio has been considered in the past or offered.”

Coun. Wendy Hall asked Butler what the Chamber thought was an appropriate tax ratio.

“Any reduction on one side of the equation has impacts on the other side, whether that’s residential taxpayers or service levels,” Hall said.

Butler replied that it was more important to establish a framework to derive a ratio.

“As long as we’re just aiming at ratios, we’re bound to miss the mark,” he said.

Mayor Richard Ireland pushed back on the idea that there was no structural rationale for the current ratio. He noted how when the Municipality came into existence 25 years ago, the intent was to reflect the differing lease rates under the previous Parks Canada regime. The ratio had been 7.1 to one but has steadily been reduced over the years.

“That is the progress that has been made,” Ireland said. “It is neither entirely arbitrary nor entirely predicated on a known formula.”

Council previously tasked administration with undertaking an engagement process on the tax ratio. Given said once engagement wrapped up, staff would likely return with a draft tax policy in July in advance of fall budget discussions.

Peter Shokeir, Local Journalism Initiative // info@thejasperlocal.com