You likely won't see a property tax hike this year, but only because Fort Saskatchewan City Council is protecting you from the Alberta government.



Council debates the final budget and tax rate this week, including a further $865,000 cut in expenses in order to bring the total property tax increase to zero.



But your property taxes include the education tax. This tax goes directly to the Alberta government to pay school costs and is set by the Alberta government.



This tax was increased in October of last year in the much delayed Alberta 2019 budget. The increase was not collected in 2019, but will be part of this year's property tax bill.



You may have heard Premier Jason Kenney promise that the education tax will not increase this year, but that doesn't impact the increase already set last October.



Had City Council not stepped in, this education tax increase would have turned into a 1.5 per cent total property tax hike.



I appreciate the effort being made on my behalf by City Council and especially City of Fort Saskatchewan staff. This money will be hard to find even in a $79.6 million annual operating budget. It is especially hard in this very difficult year.



Because it is a difficult year, every bit of help is appreciated in my household.



But that doesn't reduce my anger with Alberta's new UCP government, which continues to squeeze the people of Alberta even in these difficult times.



This education tax increase comes when the government is cutting funding to schools. Elk Island Public schools received $9 million less in government funding this year, and expects a $5.3 million shortfall as a result. This does not include further cuts following measures taken to deal with COVID-19.



One of the promises made by the UCP was to cut taxes. Instead, our education property tax has been increased. Worse, cuts made to education funding have resulted in new school fees and school bus fees.



The UCP government is putting the burden of dealing with this crisis entirely on the people of Alberta. This must stop.





