One of TSMV’s biggest claims is how they will bring financial stability to our community. But what if that’s not true? Rod de Leeuw was the Town of Canmore’s Chief Financial Officer for 11 years and says we should look at past trends and think otherwise.
Since the mid-1990s successive TSMV ASPs have promised the “holy grail” to Councils – a greater commercial tax base. Except for the Stewart Creek Golf Course, a moderate sized hotel (Worldmark with 112 rooms) and a small mixed use development (Mountaineer’s Village at Drygas Gate), little of the promised commercial assessment has been developed, leaving a significant and enduring financial burden on the existing residential tax base. As a matter of fact, if we look at all the assessed development on TSMV lands since the mid-1990s, it’s 96.4% Residential.
* All figures are provided in good faith. Small sample errors may be present within the 7,500 tax rolls examined
Here’s why this matters: Because residential properties consume more municipal services than the taxes levied on them (per Nichol’s submitted Fiscal Impact Study), this means you, us, and the rest of our community will have to make up this difference in higher municipal taxes if the commercial development does not materialize, as was the case with previous ASPs submitted by TSMV.
We have crunched the numbers and it’s truly remarkable. Do you know that, despite all the development in Canmore in the past decade with the promise of a larger commercial tax base, our municipal taxes are doubling every 12 years?
Do you want to have to pay higher taxes to finance a doubling of Canmore on lands that have significant risks due to undermining, forest fires, and flooding? On lands that threaten the existence of wildlife and that will forever change the fabric of our community? Please write to the Municipal Clerk and Town Council so that your views are recorded as part of the Public Hearing on TSMV’s ASP proposals, which is scheduled for March 9th. If you’ve already written to Town Council before February 9th, the day when the First Reading was approved, unfortunately Town Council has stated that they’re not going to count your letter. BUT, you can simply forward your letter to municipal.clerk@canmore.ca to have your voice counted as part of the Public Hearing.
You can watch Rod’s full 18 minute interview with Wade Graham on the Video page of our website. We’ve been adding new videos to this page and have a lot more coming soon, so please check back often.
You can also read Rod’s 5 page Financial Review of TSMV’s proposals that he submitted to Town Council. Please share this information with your friends and members of our community!
We will be sharing much more very soon. In the meantime, please register for the Bow Valley Engage Information Session, which is scheduled for February 23rd at 7pm.
Have a great day!