MOOSE JAW — City council has approved this year’s property tax bylaw, which means
Members gave three unanimous readings to the bylaw during their recent regular council meeting, which means it is now in effect.
Council approved a municipal tax hike of 7.6 per cent in December, but because it wants to narrow the property tax gap between residential and commercial properties, taxpayers will share more of the financial burden with the commercial sector.
This means residential properties will see a tax increase equal to 8.93 per cent — a jump of 1.33 per cent from December — and commercial will see an increase equal to five per cent.
In 2017, the property tax gap was 2.43 times, while it’s 1.80 times this year.
Most taxpayers will likely pay an extra $30.32 per month or $363.97 for the year based on the initial tax hike. However, it’s unknown how much extra they will pay with the additional 1.33 per cent in municipal taxation.
The updated bylaw establishes the municipal taxation rates for 2024; defines the classes and subclasses for taxation purposes; enumerates the mill rate factors for each subclass; excludes assessments from the supplemental role that generate under $100 in tax revenue; sets a $100 levy for the cast iron water main replacement program; sets a $65 levy for the parks and recreation capital fund; and sets the provincially determined taxation rates for the school divisions.
Tax payments, discounts, penalties
Council gave three unanimous readings to the tax payments, discounts and penalties bylaw, which means homeowners will have until Sunday, June 30, to pay their property taxes.
Unless paid through the tax instalment payment plan service (TIPPS), taxes submitted after that date will default and be subject to late payment penalties of one per cent per month compounded monthly and an extra one per cent per month compounded monthly added on the first day of each of the remaining months of the tax year.
Coun. Heather Eby said she received several calls from residents wondering if they could receive an extension on the discount due date because city hall had changed how it informed people about property taxes.
“Many residents were waiting for their tax notice to come in the mail and … we decided not to do that this year because (city administration said) communication was going to be so good, nobody would not know what was happening,” she continued.
“And people did not know what was happening.”
Eby then asked for clarification on the due dates for late payments.
March 31 is the deadline for the tax discount program — Moose Jaw is one of a few Saskatchewan communities with such a program — while city administration said last year that it was discontinuing the practice of mailing paper notices because it could save the city $12,000 in postage, stamps and manpower, said finance director Brian Acker.
“We went on a fairly extensive communication campaign, which included print media (and) social media … . So there was a lot of opportunities to get it out there,” he continued.
The finance department received several calls from people who did not receive their notices and either directed them to the website to pay or accepted payment over the phone, Acker noted.
Many taxpayers have asked for an extension on the discount program, but that’s impossible because others have already paid “in good faith,” knowing there was no extension, he said.
“It’s like many things: it’s a matter of people getting used to it. No matter how much you go out there and try to get that message out, there will always be exceptions where people may have missed out on hearing that message,” Acker continued.
Fewer people should miss the next discount deadline after city hall establishes a pattern for promoting the deadline, he added.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, May 27.
