Town of Coaldale Releases Its 2021 Comparative Analysis

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The analysis compares the Town’s 2021 operational and financial performance to the operational and financial performances of eight other municipalities, including those of neighboring Lethbridge and Lethbridge County.

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As part of its ongoing commitment to transparent governance, the Town of Coaldale has officially released its 2021 Comparative Analysis report. This report compares Coaldale’s operational and financial performance to the operational and financial performances of eight other similarly sized and neighbouring municipalities: Blackfalds, Taber, Innisfail, Edson, Drumheller, Ponoka, Lethbridge, and Lethbridge County.

Like its previous iterations, the report focuses on measuring Coaldale’s operational and financial performance across five distinct benchmarks: operational expenditures and revenues; taxation and assessment; assessment growth; population growth; and executive compensation. “The reasons for measuring these benchmarks, in particular, are twofold,” said Cameron Mills, Director of Growth & Investment for the Town of Coaldale. “When designing the analysis, we wanted to adopt a comparative framework that was relatively simple and easy-to-read so we confined our approach to measuring five benchmarks in total. Second, to avoid the accusation that the Town is ‘cherry-picking’ statistics that reflect favourably on Coaldale, we picked benchmarks that we could measure consistently, year after year.”

This year’s report contains some extremely positive findings - especially with respect to the relationship between Coaldale’s approach to taxation and its residential and non-residential assessment growth. As the report shows, over the last 4 years residential and non-residential mill rates in all of Coaldale’s peer and neighbouring municipalities increased - and in some cases by over 10% (Blackfalds). But in Coaldale itself, both mill rates decreased (by approximately 2% and 8%) which has, in turn, helped to spur more per capita residential and non-residential assessment growth. Indeed, as the report also shows, from 2015-2021 Coaldale saw significantly more residential and non-residential assessment growth per capita than any of its peer or neighbouring municipalities. In terms of residential assessment growth, Coaldale saw approximately $25,000 per capita which is approximately $7,000 and $10,000 more than its direct neighbours (Lethbridge County and Lethbridge, respectively). Similarly, in terms of non-residential assessment growth, Coaldale saw approximately $7,000 per capita which is approximately $3900 and $4200 per capita more than its direct neighbours.

 “This is 3rd consecutive year that the Town has published this analysis and, once again, it clearly shows that the Town has succeeded in its goal of adopting innovative and efficiency-focused practices, designed to keep costs down while stimulating both commercial and residential growth,” explained Mills. “The Town’s approach to taxation is just one example, but as readers will see, there are others including its approach to employee compensation, as well.”

“We’re excited to finally release this analysis to the public so our residents can see how Coaldale is performing relative to both its neighbours and other municipalities its size,” said Town of Coaldale Mayor Jack Van Rijn. “Like shareholders, Town residents have a vested interest in knowing just how efficient or inefficient Coaldale’s operations really are, and just healthy or unhealthy its fiscal situation really is. Publishing this analysis each year provides them with that information while at the same time keeping the organization accountable.”

Coaldale’s 2021 Comparative Analysis can be found on the Town’s website at https://www.coaldale.ca/ComparativeAnalysis.