The Rotary Club of Airdrie was honored today by the 14 year veteran Rocky View County Reeve, Greg Boehlke (right), speaking at the regular Tuesday lunchtime meeting about the County and where its future will take it. Grant Kaiser (left), manager of the County’s Communication Services, accompanied Greg.The Rocky View County consists of about 1 million acres, and includes the area from Bragg Creek in the West to Beseker in the East, Madden in the North to Dalemead in the South. It includes 1,270 country farms, accommodates 40,000 residents with a median household income 62% higher than in Calgary and 217% higher than the Canadian average. Rocky View is a net contributor of jobs in the greater Calgary region. Taxes are 0,25% for residential properties and 0,74% for non-residential properties of their assessed value.
Rural municipality management is challenging and over-and-above the normal municipal services that are operated and maintained, Rocky View’s portfolio includes ‘Agriculture’ for support services and weed & pest control. 92% of the county is agricultural land and legislated taxes are $450/acre, with resulting county income to keep the county operating for just two days of a year. Residents pay at least twice the amount of education taxes per capita than other municipalities in the region.
The County has just taken occupation of a new County Hall. They are busy developing a new Strategic Plan, as well as a new Economic Development Plan, and have embraced the Calgary Metropolitan Regional Board project. There is a current initiative to streamline planning and building permitting.
Although the growth in the region is currently less than historically, Greg remains cautiously optimistic in the prospects of growth, especially in the area of Transportation and Warehousing.