YORKTON - Yorkton Council approved the 2023 mill rates at its regular meeting Monday.
“Municipal property taxes are set by City Council and account for approximately 70 per cent of your total property tax amount,” began Raelyn Knudson – Assessment & Taxation Manager with the city in her report to Council.
The calculation of each property owner’s share of property taxes is based on two factors:
*The City’s budget;
*The total assessed value of all properties in our City.
At the Feb.14, Council meeting, Council approved the 2023 Operating and 2023/2024 Capital Budget, which included a 3.93 per cent increase in taxation revenue.
“Property tax is the highest source of revenue for the City. In order to achieve the budget increase, tax policy was reviewed and analyzed, and discussions with Council ensued,” noted Knudson.
Analysis of taxable assessment revealed that:
*Commercial warehouse properties saw a 9 per cent reduction in taxable assessment
*The Industrial taxable assessment was reduced by 23 per cent
*Residential property assessments remain stable and the number of properties remains much the same
*There was a slight shift in the taxable assessment split, with Residential making up 69.74 per cent and Commercial 30.26 per cent
“2023 Residential taxable assessment accounts for 70 per cent of the total assessment, with Commercial making up the other 30 per cent. The split has shifted slightly from 2022, where Residential was 66 per cent and Commercial 33 per cent,” explained Knudson.
A base tax for Police & Fire has been in place on all residential properties with improvements for many years.
“In 2022, Council introduced a Police and Fire base tax for improved non-commercial properties. The $250.00 tax amount was the first step of phasing in the tax over a number of years with the goal of every property owner (residential and commercial) paying an equal share of the costs of Protective Services,” said Knudson.
For 2023, the second year of the non-residential base tax phase in, the base tax will be raised to $500.00.
Residential police and fire base tax will remain at $830.00.
In addition, The Recreation Services base tax helps to cover costs associated with our recreational facilities. The $100.00 base tax will remain on all improved residential properties in 2023.
New this year is a hospital levy.
“The provincial government has identified the need for a new hospital in Yorkton. A timeline for the new build has not been announced yet, but Council’s goal is to be proactive and start saving money for the build,” said Knudson.
A hospital levy will be gradually phased in over the next few years. Improved residential properties will be charged a $25.00 levy in 2023. Non-residential properties will pay a pro-rated share of the levy that is blended into the total mill rate. This amount is equal to approximately 0.6 per cent of the municipal commercial levy.
The uniform mill rate (total municipal levy/taxable assessment x 1000) for 2023 is 16.8447.
