Municipal assessor Travis Horne said new methods in data analysis partly responsible for shifts across province<\/p>\n
ATHABASCA \u2014 After 23 official appeals from commercial ratepayers who saw increases on their 2025 assessment, Town of Athabasca councillors heard from municipal assessor Travis Horne to explain the unexpected shift in property values, which he credits to changes in the market and in standard best practices.<\/p>\n
Horne, with Municipal Assessment Service Group, presented virtually to town councillors July 15 after elected officials requested more information on the process of assessment on behalf of concerned locals.<\/p>\n
But while councillors agreed the presentation clarified grey areas on the assessment process, it also highlighted the limit of their influence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not much that council can have control over there,\u201d said Mayor Rob Balay.<\/p>\n
Since assessments were sent out May, Horne said 13 unique ratepayers within the town have contacted his office with concerns about the numbers for 40 different properties. CAO Rachel Ramey said 23 official complaints have been filed, all commercial.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been on council for almost eight years now and this is by far the most activity we\u2019ve had for appeals that are going to be coming,\u201d said Balay.<\/p>\n
This year marks Horne\u2019s first\u00a0as the town\u2019s assessor after taking over for the late Dan Kanuka. Horne told councillors the reason for the unexpected changes ratepayers have seen can be explained by market shifts, and also in part by the passing of the torch in Athabasca and other similar-sized towns in Alberta.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing, I don\u2019t want to call it a correction for this year, I want to say it\u2019s more of a normalization,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen (Kanuka) would look at land sales, he would limit himself to just the sales of bare, vacant land,\u201d said Horne. \u201cMy view is that there are opportunities for us to increase our data set to better reflect the market.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead of only looking at the value of vacant land, Horne is now using the residual land-sales process, which identifies the value of any improvements, in addition to the value of the land if it was vacant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout doing that, we would have had \u2026 without getting into the nitty gritty of it, a somewhat unreliable pool of observations to determine the land value,\u201d said Horne. He added in certain sectors, like retail space, assessments had been between 50 to 60 per cent below sale value.<\/p>\n
Coun. Jon LeMessurier questioned Horne on shifts in the market, and said in conversations with real estate agents\u00a0he heard assessment values have exceeded what buyers will pay for property, especially vacant land with no improvements.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cAthabasca, I\u2019d love to say it\u2019s a booming town but it\u2019s just not, for commercial or residential right now. We\u2019ve seen very little growth,\u201d said LeMessurier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I talked to the Realtors on some of these assessed values of these properties, they said there\u2019s just no way they can sell those properties for anywhere close to that, and they also mentioned that usually assessed value is about 20 per cent less than market value.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horne said assessment values are based on the real estate market as of last year, not what\u2019s for sale and selling now, and noted sales data used to determine values come only from within the municipal boundaries of the town, not other areas of the province.<\/p>\n
He added assessors have access to more sales data than agents do, catching cash deals through land titles that often miss the internal Realtor\u00a0database.<\/p>\n
He also pointed out factors like the land value in a particular area of town, unique or uncommon improvements to property, and even the style and type of build can affect assessment numbers and discrepancies between neighbours and neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always worked on the assumption that assessment is under market value,\u201d said Coun. Sara Graling. \u201cThe Realtors have that perception, I had that perception working as a lender, that assessment was always soft compared to market value.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many years, the assessment has been under the market value, and this community and our taxpayers have benefited from that,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Property taxes and official assessment complaints were due on June 30, but Horne said any town ratepayers with concerns can still get in touch with his office around assessment concerns and possible adjustments.<\/p>\n
While he said he\u2019s willing to work with most concerns and re-evaluate assessments if new data is provided, there is a limit to what information Horne can provide himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften when there\u2019s a dissatisfied ratepayer, they take what I have to say with a grain of salt, so I make sure to give them third-party arm\u2019s length resources to help guide them,\u201d said Horne.<\/p>\n
He said forms, which he worked with town administration to develop last year, are available on the municipal website to request more resources about individual assessments, and recent changes to the Municipal Government Act allow Albertans an avenue for access to assessment information for their properties and similar ones within the assessment base.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made sure to advise the ratepayer of their rights, and I\u2019ve actually, in every case that I can recall, provided them resources published not by myself but by the province online, explaining and outlining how these information requests occur, on what timeline, what information they can expect to receive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ratepayers can also receive reports on the details of their property and provide any new information or update existing data to better reflect reality.<\/p>\n
“I always ask them, I say, \u2018Look, you know your property better than anybody else, please review these and let me know if there\u2019s an issue,\u2019\u201d said Horne. \u201cFor example, if we have an incorrect amount of basement finish or for whatever reason they knocked out a garage and it\u2019s not there anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOftentimes, those are issues that are very easy to address because it\u2019s a data issue. I\u2019m happy to make those adjustments,\u201d said Horne. \u201cAnd if you find sales or assessments of properties similar to yours that are lower, either of those can help reduce your value.\u201d<\/p>\n
But\u00a0one thing assessors don\u2019t make a habit of is sharing all the additional sales and data used to make valuations with ratepayers. While they are avenues to access it through the province, Horne said laying everything on the table can be a double-edged sword for assessors.<\/p>\n
He said if the documents assessors provide support the assessment and a ratepayer decides not to appeal, and then later finds sales that would have affected their value, the assessor can be blamed for ratepayers losing out on an appeal.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, if assessors set values, and then provide ratepayers with sales and information that would support a reduction, councils and municipalities would face budget consequences and ratepayers may call into question the veracity of the original assessments.<\/p>\n
He stressed any ratepayers with concerns, even those who did not file a formal complaint or appeal before the deadline, can reach out to him for a discussion. Appellants will have a chance to present their case to the appeal board, but even those who submitted formal complaints can have their issues addressed before a meeting is scheduled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no service to the public forcing everybody to go to a hearing when the data is right in front of me and I can just call administration and explain what\u2019s going on and we can make that adjustment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councillors around the table were thankful to get\u00a0an explanation from Horne, but did note the next group of elected officials could encounter challenges in trying to reverse this year\u2019s tax rate increases to offset the additional $32 million in assessment for the town.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor council, it\u2019s going to be difficult to lower the mill rate, because then it\u2019s going to affect all the other ones that weren\u2019t affected,\u201d Balay said. \u201cYou can\u2019t give a mill rate for the East Hill and a mill rate for the South Hill and a mill rate for the west end. It puts council in a tough spot for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councillors voted unanimously to pass all three readings of a new assessment review board bylaw. The previous version of the bylaw, passed in 2018, appointed a regional assessment review board, while the new legislation establishes the town\u2019s own boards for both commercial and resident appeals to allow for faster scheduling of the 23 hearings.\u00a0<\/p>\n