The Town of Cochrane, population 17,000, has received an award for excellence in government finance from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.
The award was given for the town's community revitalization levy (CRL), which redirects taxes toward public-improvement projects in the new Quarry area. That's the commercial retail redevelopment in the town's core on what was a former industrial site for treating lumber used in railways.
CRL is a unique funding opportunity that allows a municipality to keep the incremental education portion of the taxes in the CRL area.
According to town officials, it marks the the first time a small community has tried a community revitalization levy in Alberta.
– Compiled by Dave Husdal
from Western Investor June 2013
