HUMBOLDT — The City of Humboldt will be looking at Caleb Village’s tax classification after residents appealed to council for it to be changed.
Currently the retirement community falls under multi-residential.
Michael Behiel, Humboldt’s mayor, said it will go back to administration to look at other similar sized communities and do comparisons.
“We have to set the mill rates yet, so they’ll look at the mill rate to see if that’s a feasible thing to adjust in order to bring that rate down or what the best scenario is – or even if it is warranted to do that,” Behiel said.
A 2021 assessment for the 44 rental units at Caleb’s Village was $7,812,300, an increase of 8.24 per cent from the last assessment in 2017. In 2021 the total tax levy on the 44 units was $104,200, an increase of 12 per cent from 2020.
Members of the Humboldt’s Caleb Village condo board attended city council on March 28, requesting the city establish a new tax subclass for them for a different mill rate.
The committee argued that Caleb Village is different from other condos for several reasons, including the amount of common area in the building, which is significantly higher in proportion to the number of units in the building compared to an ordinary condo.
The complex has 55 privately owned units and 44 rental units, and employs 27.
“It can accommodate residents with physical handicaps, in other words that has assisted living available there for those who cannot live alone anymore,” said Grant Hoffman, chair of the condo board.
“Caleb Village is the only facility of its kind in Humboldt that provides these kinds of services, therefore because of the demand these condos have a high resale value compared to other condominiums.”
The annual mill rate factor bylaw is expected to come to council in late April or early May.
