The Town of Rocky Mountain House will provide Alberta Municipalities (ABmunis) with data on how the perceived underfunding of the provincial Grants in Place of Property Tax (GIPOT) program is affecting municipalities.

The GIPOT program allows municipalities to raise revenue from properties owned by the Government of Alberta, which are exempt from municipal taxation. In return, municipalities receive a grant instead of property taxes on eligible government-owned properties within their boundaries.

A resolution passed by the Town of High Prairie at the September ABmunis conference in Red Deer calls for the provincial government to restore GIPOT funding to 2019 levels of $60 million.

According to an ABmunis report, the Government of Alberta reduced GIPOT funding from $60 million to $30 million between 2019 and 2020, leaving municipalities with less revenue from the discretionary grant program.

Although funding was increased to $38.1 million in Budget 2024, the report indicates that municipalities are increasingly burdened by rising assessment values and the construction of new government infrastructure.

Previously, the province paid municipalities 100 per cent of the assessed property tax as a grant in lieu. However, in the past five years, the Town of Rocky Mountain House has had to write off an increasing amount due to reduced GIPOT funding, explained CAO Dean Krause.

For Rocky Mountain House, the total amount recouped from other taxpayers is more than $270,000 over the past five years, data shows.

Source: Town of Rocky Mountain House

Calculations show the City of Edmonton has lost out on around $80 million in GIPOT funding since 2019.

Councillor Dave Auld expressed support for sending a letter to ABmunis, citing frustration over the increasing financial burden placed on municipalities by the provincial government.

In its letter, ABmunis highlights how reductions in GIPOT funding are just one example of the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been “downloaded” onto municipalities between 2017 and 2023.

The resolution aligns with ABmunis’ ongoing advocacy for municipal financial health and funding.

A motion to send a letter to the provincial government supporting the proposal was passed unanimously.

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