WHEREAS Alberta Municipal Affairs & Housing is required to apply the Alberta Linear Property Assessment Minister’s Guidelines in preparing assessments of linear property; and WHEREAS application of the Minister’s Guidelines results in certain multi-zone wells being assessed as “crude oil flowing” that should be assessed as “injection wells” or “gas wells”;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to amend the Minister’s Guidelines to indicate that where the records of the AEUB show that a multi-zone well has production or injection hours in at least one of the zones, the Designated Linear Assessor shall prepare the assessment based on the well status description for the zone that has the greatest degree of production or injection.

Each zone in a multi-zone well has its own well status description. The Minister’s Guidelines indicate that in this case, the Designated Linear Assessor shall use the well status description that occurs first in Table 4.08 of the Guidelines. (4.008(b)(ii).This approach results in certain wells receiving an assessment that does not accurately reflect the value of those wells, and further results in those wells receiving a depreciation of 90% or assessed at only 10% of value when they are in fact being used, (MGA section 284(1)(k)(iii)(B)(C)(D)(E) and (E.1) of the Act). This causes unfairness and inequitable assessments with some multi-zone wells assessed at 100%, verses others at 10% of value.This violates two fundamental assessment principles: first that an assessment should reflect the value of all assessable property, and second, that similar properties should be assessed similarly.We recommend the Designated Linear Assessor shall prepare the assessment based on the well status description for the zone that has the greatest degree of production or injection.

Resolution 17-06F: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Minister of Municipal Affairs review the department’s policy, guidelines and regulation by using all AEUB information so that similar wells be assessed in the same manner.Resolution 30-05F: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to make any amendments necessary to legislation, regulations and guidelines that when a pipeline is commissioned, the company must also change their records at AEUB to Operational “O” or face a financial penalty.Resolution 25-05F: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to make any amendments necessary to legislation, regulations and guidelines to update the linear oil well assessment well rates and ensure that the costs of pumps remain in the revised rates.Resolution 24-05F: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to make any amendments necessary to legislation, regulations and guidelines to remove the “W” code from the additional depreciation table within the Linear Property Assessment Manual regardless of pipeline assessment rate review.

While the government has not taken any action toward the fulfillment of this resolution, the AAMDC expects that a review of the assessment part of the Municipal Government Act will be commenced in coming months. The AAMDC has submitted this resolution as a needed change for improvement of assessment procedures within the recommendations endorsed by the Board of Directors.