News | DrumhellerMail - Page #19
12132024Fri
Last updateThu, 12 Dec 2024 5pm

Delia Mayor sets record straight regarding online claims

delia
The Mayor of Delia issued a letter to residents of the village hoping to clarify some allegations that were shared on social media regarding property taxes.
A post was created on a local Facebook page alleging the village has covertly granted a tax reduction for property in the community, based on a resident’s medical condition.
“I take personal exception to the fact that this was all handled allegedly underneath the table to appease aggressive loud individuals. What is given to one in a democracy must be offered to others,” noted the post.
Mayor Jordan Elliott issued a letter that has been posted on social media, noting the post published some “very inaccurate information.”
“Property Assessments are based entirely on the market value of the property and not influenced at all by the medical condition of the property owner. The assessor is audited every year by the Provincial Government and must be within 95% and 105% of the actual value of the property. As with any auditor, adjustments to the norm are highly reviewed and questioned. If the assessor lowered the assessment of a property because the owner was "not feeling well", the assessment would be corrected, and the assessor would fail his audit,” said Elliott in the letter.
It also goes on to note that water consumption is audited the same way, as are penalties.
It does note however the village has had to write off a few utility bills in 2024.
“By order of the Alberta Utility Commission, a few write-offs were made to the utility system. Part of the current definition of "customer" is that the property must be able to use that utility. If a vacant building is no longer connected to the municipal system and the property is in such a condition that the utility cannot be protected or utilized, that building cannot be a "customer". Resulting from this order, the billings for base charges were discontinued and refunded back to the property owner,” the letter stated.
“In 2024 there were a few additional write-offs of utility billings, which were entirely delinquent renters who had left the area and could not be located. This covered a period of a few years.”


Hanna RCMP lay drug charges after traffic stop

Copy of 20180117 RCMP Stock TJH 0067
On the evening of Tuesday, September 24, a Hanna RCMP officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 600 block of 12 Avenue West.
As a result of the traffic stop, the officer located a passenger in violation of a court-imposed release order requiring that he abide by a curfew, not be in a vehicle without the registered owner present, and that he carry a copy of his release conditions.
The male was arrested and, during a search, suspected methamphetamine was found in his possession. 39 year-old Cole Matthew Peoples, a resident of Hanna, has been charged with the following:
Possession of a controlled substance
Failure to comply with a condition of a release order (x3)
Peoples was taken before a Justice of the Peace and temporarily remanded into custody. Following a hearing on September 25, Peoples remained remanded into custody pending his next court appearance on September. 27 at the Alberta Court of Justice in Drumheller.

Standard makes progress on industrial expansion

IndustrialMap
The Village of Standard is working on sustainable growth with the development of a new business park.
Mayor Martin Gauthier tells the Mail the project has been in the works for a few years.
“About five years ago, we started looking into it,” he said. “Now we are just proceeding ahead with 13 new lots.”
He sees this as being a part of the community’s future.
“We have always had a pretty good industrial park in town,” said Gaither, which includes agricultural and mechanical services, as well as oil and gas and construction.
They have the lots divided and are working on installing services.
“We have the area down there, and we have had an interest in more lots, So we’ll get a road built and services put in,” he said.
On the residential side, there has been some movement, with a house being built in their newest subdivision, and another home being put in near the old school.
The community of Standard is well situated, with large projects in the vicinity, including the De Havilland Campus and the USG wallboard plant being developed in Wheatland County. This could bring pressure for affordable residential development.
“These can bring in people looking for a place to live, and it would sure be nice to see a few more lots sold in our subdivision. We have more people questioning things and looking into it,” he said.


Subcategories

The Drumheller Mail encourages commenting on our stories but due to our harassment policy we must remove any comments that are offensive, or don’t meet the guidelines of our commenting policy.