WHEREAS municipalities provide a service to the Government of Alberta in respect to collection of school requisitions and associated costs;AND WHEREAS municipalities do not receive compensation for the provision of this service;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties undertake a net cost analysis of the service provided to the Province by municipalities for the collection of school requisitions and associated costs (i.e. interest uncollectibles, Administration costs, appeals, etc.)AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties Executive report back to the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties members with recommendations on cost recovery options for consideration.

Historically, municipalities have always collected the school tax on behalf of the school boards in the province without any compensation for our cost or the time taken by our staff to listen to the variety of concerns expressed to us.Some of the costs incurred by municipalities include the cost of preparing the assessment, and printing tax notices to include a portion for the school tax. A major cost is the payment of the school requisition on a quarterly basis. The first two quarterly payments are made prior to a majority of the municipalities collecting any taxes, and in some cases municipalities may have to borrow money to meet their operating expenditures. Other costs incurred include holding Assessment Review Board hearings and preparing revised tax notices if required. Another cost is in sending out reminder notices and in some cases writing off uncollectibles especially when it comes to dealing with mobile home parks where it may be difficult to get up-to-date information at all times.