MOOSE JAW — Taxpayers owed over $3 million in total tax arrears by the end of the second quarter, which was almost 30-per-cent more than Q2 2023, while there were 94-per-cent fewer people on payment plans.
City administration presented the second-quarter financial report during the Sept. 9 regular city council meeting, which included data about tax arrears, outstanding debt and how much each property class owed.
Council voted unanimously to receive and file the report.
Property tax arrears
As of June 30, taxpayers owed $3,380,725 in total arrears, which included $3,324,951 in property tax liens and $55,774 in payment plans, the report said.
Conversely, by June 30, 2023, those numbers were $2,529,801, $1,688,722 and $841,079, respectively.
Therefore, the total outstanding amount of tax arrears increased by $850,924 — a jump of 25.2 per cent — from Q2 2023 to Q2 2024. This comprised a year-over-year increase in liens of $1,636,229 and a decrease in payment plans of $785,305.
Meanwhile, by June 30, 2022, taxpayers owed $2,080,157 in total arrears, including $1,205,881 in property tax liens and $874,276 in payment plans.
It’s unfortunate that tax arrears have increased by nearly $850,000 year over year, finance director Brian Acker said during the meeting. However, his department is redeploying resources around tax enforcement because there are more accounts to manage, which means staff must do better managing arrears.
Property taxes receivable
Property taxes receivable consists of tax arrears and taxes owing. Tax arrears are overdue taxes, while current taxes are due but have not fallen into arrears. Taxes fall into arrears in the next year following the levy of taxes.
The total outstanding property taxes receivable by June 30 was $20,574,055, which included $17,193,330 in current taxes owed and $3,380,725 in outstanding arrears.
In comparison, total property taxes receivable that were outstanding by the end of Q2 2023 were $2,529,801, followed by $16,534,844 in 2022, $30,172,095 in 2021, $27,432,046 in 2020 and $15,597,758 in 2019.
Arrears by property classes
At the end of 2023, the six property classes that city hall taxes owed $1,715,241.97 in outstanding arrears, while that number was $1,609,708.77 at the end of 2022. This means that those classes have owed — including payment plans — $3,380,724.74 during the last two years.
The arrears that the six classes owed in 2023 and 2022 and the totals were:
- Other agricultural: $738.76 / $859.18 / $1,597.94
- Commercial/industrial: $607,702.58 / $359,005.85 / $966,708.43
- Grain elevators: $0 / $0 / $0
- Multi-unit residential: $154,237.56 / $114,371.57 / $268,609.13
- Non-arable (range): $372.64 / 40 / $372.64
- Residential: $952,190.43 / $1,135,472.17 / $2,087,662.60
Compared to residential, commercial/industrial comprised 46 per cent of all outstanding arrears by property class.
Borrowing/debt
As of June 30, there were five projects that city hall was still repaying after borrowing money to finance them.
The principal outstanding amount on each project was:
- Multiplex/Events Centre long-term loan: $10,812,000
- Waterworks capital long-term loan: $20,510,000
- High-service pumphouse: $6,999,000
- Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation (BPWTC) loan term loan (Bank of Montreal): $9,552,660
- Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation loan term loan (TD Bank): $14,185,019.68
These projects totalled $62,058,679.68, a decrease from $63,045,589.54 at the end of Q1. However, because council accepted $14.3 million in BPWTC debt for this year, the city’s overall debt is actually $76.3 million.
Moose Jaw’s debt limit is $95 million.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Sept. 23.
