Village of Clive residential property owners will likely see their tax bill go up after councillors approved a two per cent increase to the combined residential tax rate. The decision was made at the May 24 regular meeting of council, held one day later than normal because of Victoria Day.
Village Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Carla Kenney presented the 2022 tax rate bylaw for council’s perusal, noting the total municipal tax revenue would be $683,053.
In a chart provided to councillors Kenney noted change in assessment was listed as 0.2 per cent while change in combined residential tax rate was listed at two per cent. The chart listed the average residential home change in assessment at 0.3 per cent and the average residential home increase in taxes, which is what an average home owner in Clive would see on their tax bill, was listed as $57.41.
This precludes any provincial government requisitions on any tax bill; the province decides those rates and municipalities collect on their behalf.
Councillors passed all readings necessary to bring the bylaw into effect.
Police report
Councillors examined the April, 2022 crime stats and gauges submitted by the Blackfalds RCMP, the detachment responsible for policing Clive.
Mayor Lucy Henry noted the report generally looked good, with many crime numbers dropping.
She pointed out the increases were few but they seemed to be in very important areas.
Mayor Henry also stated she’d like the report to be made available to the public. Councillors accepted the report as information.
Sea cans in Clive
During the council inquiry portion of the council agenda Coun. Norma Penny asked how sea cans, or inter-model transport containers, are handled in Clive. Sea cans are used by some people as storage containers and have been criticized in some communities as damaging to aesthetics.
Kenney responded sea cans, or shipping containers as they’re called in the village Land Use Bylaw (LUB), are permitted thusly: one per 0.2 Ha of parcel area, have to be placed on the ground, can’t be stacked, are only allowed on parcels where an approved building has been erected, have to be in a side or back yard plus a few other restrictions. The CAO stated the village usually handles sea cans on a “complaint” basis; that is, the village investigates if a complaint is filed by the public.
Mayor Henry suggested putting out a public statement on sea can rules so the public is aware of how Clive handles them.
Dog issues
During her regular report to council the CAO noted two dogs running at large complaints were fielded by the animal control enforcement officer. Apparently one of the dog owners told the officer that most municipalities requiring a leash also offer an off-leash dog area.
Intentional fire
Kenney reported emergency services responded to a grass fire near Clive School May 15 and both the school resource officer and RCMP are working with a suspect who is also a student.
Kenney stated it’s suspected the fire was intentionally lit and there may have been more than one student involved, but the suspect is the one police feel lit the fire.
Her report also noted the cost for the Clive Fire Department to respond to the fire was $2,325.
Water line delayed
During regular staff reports the CAO told councillors the Hwy. #12/21 Water Commission pipeline “on-stream” estimate has been pushed back to late June, 2022.
Kenney also reported on a failure to a water system and the failure occurred in the area where the commission wants to go under the railway tracks.
She noted it’s being investigated to see if the pipeline contributed to the water system failure.
Need the RV dump
The CAO stated the village office received three informal complaints regarding the RV dump.
Apparently the dump was not available until after 5:30 p.m. on May 23 and those users were unhappy about that.
Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism initiative reporter
ECA Review
