(Cam Lee/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

Tax increase in Melfort

Melfort council passes budget with 2.07 per cent average tax increase

Jan 14, 2020 | 4:42 PM

The city of Melfort has passed its 2020 budget, and residents will see a 2.07 per cent average tax increase.

Council passed the budget at its meeting Monday, Jan. 13.

Mayor Rick Lang said the increase is in line with other municipalities across Saskatchewan.

“This [increase] is right in the ballpark of everybody else’s tax increases that I’ve seen. In fact, it’s in the lower part of municipal tax increases across the province,” he said.

The tax increase for a residential property with a taxable assessment of $200,000 will be 1.94 per cent, which works out to $44.66 more in taxes.

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A commercial property with a taxable assessment of $250,000 will have an increase of $136.30 this year over last year, which works out to a 2.43 per cent tax increase.

Council discussed three tax levy options on Monday to balance the general operations budget.

The first option was to increase the mill rate by .29 to 10.75 mills. In a memo from Treasurer Sandy Peterson to City Manager Ryan Danberg last month, that option was seen as having a larger impact on the commercial and multi-residential properties, and on the higher assessed residential properties. Peterson recommended this option in the memo dated Dec. 19.

Council agreed with Peterson’s recommendation, passing the mill rate by .29. Lang said the move has less of an impact on lower assessed properties.

“That base tax applies to every single property in Melfort, and then you apply a mill rate increase on top of it [with the other two options],” Lang said. “If you have a lower assessed value property, the base tax increase would be the same as a higher assessed property.”

The second option would have combined a mill rate increase of .23 to 10.69 mills, and a base tax increase of $12 for improved properties, and $8 for vertical condos.

Option three was a mill rate increase of .26 to 10.72 mills, and a base tax increase of $6 for improved properties, and $4 for vertical condos.

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cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974