City Hall in Brooks, Alberta (Photo: City of Brooks)

By Justin Goulet

City of Brooks implements 2020 property tax rebate program

May 21, 2020 | 9:44 AM

BROOKS, AB – The City of Brooks is offering some relief to its residents.

The community has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1,090 cases of the virus listed in the city as of Wednesday, May 20.

With that, City Council has implemented a 2020 property tax rebate program.

The municipal portion of residential/farmland property taxes will be reduced by 1.08 percent, bringing levels back down to the 2019 rates.

The City of Brooks noted that for commercial and industrial properties, there will be a 5 percent decrease to help local businesses that are feeling the economic pressures of COVID-19, combined with diminished oil prices.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

The rebates will appear automatically on tax notices and will be implemented in conjunction with the previously announced relief measures, such as due date extensions and penalty reductions.

Property taxes are due on October 1. However, residents are encouraged to pay earlier if they can.

“Although the Property Tax Rebate Program will result in a loss of $309,781, City Council believes that offering this support is important and justifiable during these unprecedented times,” read a release.

The City is also creating an Economic Recovery Task Force, which will feature representatives from different economic sectors as well as business owners.

“We hope to develop ideas and programs that will help inject infrastructure and stimulus funding into our Region, create jobs, generate opportunities for innovation, and position us positively for further growth,” reads the City-issued release.

“This work won’t be done overnight, but our hope is that through coordinated efforts between the public and private sector, we can start to recover from this crisis and come out stronger and more resilient.”

More on the City of Brooks’ COVID-19 response can be found at brooks.ca.

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the Lethbridge News Now newsletter here. You can also download the Lethbridge News Now mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.