Finance & Taxation

Council’s Budget and Audit Committee recommends the priorities for the next year by setting aside money in the budget for each program and service. Council’s role in the budget process includes:

• Setting overall goals and objectives (policy making)
• Allocating the resources (staff and money) to meet goals and objectives (policy making)
• Monitoring operations and programs to ensure they are cost effective and achieving results (program monitoring)

The budget  has two parts - operating and capital.

The Capital Budget is funding set aside for buying, financing, leasing or building fixed assets such as land, buildings, utility facilities and major equipment. Large asset acquisitions that the Kananaskis Improvement District KID will need and use for a number of years are planned for in advance and amortized over the assets lifetime.

Capital Budget planning is carried out on a five-year cycle. The Capital Budget Plan sets out:

• Necessary capital expenditures (new assets or replacement of assets)
• Timing of capital expenditures (setting priorities on when assets are needed)
• Purchasing processes
• The development of a Capital Reserve 5-Year Plan so funds are available when needed

The goal of the Capital Reserve 5-Year Plan is to achieve a balance of $200,000 and maintain a minimum of $125,000. Council has considerable flexibility in setting up the Capital Budget. Capital purchases are funded through a combination of sources:

• Taxes
• Funds generated from the sale of other assets
• Money set aside in Capital Reserve Funds
• Utility payments and other user fees
• Development agreements
• Donations and government grants

The KID develops an Interim Budget before the Final Budget.

The Interim Budget guides the KID’s financial decisions until all information from the previous year is finalized and the Minister can set a tax rate.

Setting the tax rate is one of the most important parts of the KID budget process.

The Interim Budget is prepared each year starting in June and is approved by the end of November.

This budget allows the Kananaskis Improvement District (KID) to identify the funds needed for operating into the next year. The approved Interim Budget allows the KID to pay bills and other financial obligations, such as education requisitions, until tax revenues flow in later in the year.

The financial statements for the previous fiscal year are completed by May of each year. This allows Council to fine-tune the Interim Budget, if required. Council then directs the Chief Administrative Officer to make a recommendation to the Minister to establish the rate of taxation by Ministerial Order. The final budget becomes official when it is approved by the Minister.

The tax rate is applied to the property assessment to determine the amount of tax paid on a property. The assessment assigns a value to private property , including land, buildings, and other property improvements on the land - for most types of property, these assessments are set at market value. One exception is the assessed value of linear property, such as pipelines, which is calculated by Alberta Municipal Affairs Assessment Services Branch.

The assessed value multiplied by the current tax rate determines the amount of taxes paid on a property. Tax rates are set by the Minister based on the recommendations of Kananaskis Improvement District (KID) Council and Administration as well as procedures set out in the Municipal Government Act.

The position of Assessor is established by KID Order 7 dated Feb 4, 2003 and Amendment No. 1 dated March 22, 2011. The Designated Assessment company is Wildrose Assessment Services Inc. 

Combined Assessment and Tax notices notices are issued annually.  Ratepayers can also obtain their assessments through the Kananaskis Improvement District (KID) municipal office at 403-591-7774.

Ratepayers may appeal assessments that they consider to be inappropriate or unfair. Copies of the complaint form and the assessment complaints agent authorization form set out in Schedules 1 and 4, respectively, of the Matters Relating to Assessment complaints Regulation may be found on the Municipal Affairs website.

A municipal council has the authority to appoint members to an assessment review board, with the exception of the provincial member of a composite assessment review board (ARB) who must be appointed by the Minister.

In order for a member of an ARB to be qualified to participate in a hearing, the member must successfully complete a training program set or approved by the Minister. A person may not be a member of an ARB if they are an assessor, an employee of the municipality for which the ARB is established, or an agent as defined in MRAC. The ARB decision can be appealed to the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.

• FireSmart Community Grant
• Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA)
• Municipal Sustainability Initiative
• Canadian Community Building Fund

Community Grant Resources

Please visit the Municipal Grants Web Portal where you will find information on all provincial grant programs supporting municipalities.