The most recent meeting of the city council held a discussion about tax bylaws, and from that, some changes from the original plan were made during the meeting. Among the tax changes were the minimum and base tax amounts, which were changed to $1,200 and $1,000, respectively.
Seeing as they were previously $750, Councillor Kirsten Walliser suggested an approach that'd let people ease into the new cost.
"In previous years, the city of Estevan has always had a minimum tax on residential properties. But it was $750, and it impacted a handful of property owners. With the considerable jump to $1,200. There will be members in our community who are facing an unanticipated almost doubling of their property tax for the year."
Walliser asked for some feedback from the other councillors, noting that if a resident is not on a monthly payment program, they may have to come up with the adjusted difference with less than six weeks' notice.
Councillor Brian Johnson chimed in, wanting to know how long the fee had stayed at the previous rate, and justified the tax increase with the increased and continuing cost of services in the city.
Councillor Shelly Veroba agreed with Johnson, saying that a sudden shift, even for monthly ratepayers, could have a big impact.
"Some of these that (Tresurer Trudy Firth) had got done for us, the increase is $3.41, and it goes right back up, and some of them are in the hundreds, which you divide by 12, and you could be looking at a $35 per month tax increase. But I also agree with the fact that they get the exact same services that someone else four doors down is paying $4,000 to $5,000 a year in taxes. So I think the $1,200 minimum tax, it probably is time."
An amendment to the motion was put forward by Walliser, with the 2025 increase to the minimum tax amount going to $1,000, set to increase to $1,200 in 2026. The difference in cash lost by the tax going up slower would be made up for through borrowing.
After first voting on the bylaw for the second reading without amendments, with Walliser and Councillor Dave Elliot opposed, the council then voted on including the amendment. That barely passed the council, with a 4-3 margin as Johnson, Veroba, and Mayor Tony Sernick were opposed. The subsequent third reading of the bylaw passed with only Johnson opposed.
Elliot talked about his opposition as he felt the increase would have too big of an impact on some people.
"I actually see us having a potentially negative effect on perhaps the poorest or weakest segment of Estevan's society. So, as such, I think I would rather see us, if we had to borrow, and I don't know what the amount is, what the impact would be, but rather than put one specific group into an increased hardship, I would rather see us take a graduated approach toward it."
No motion was made to change the amount charged for the base tax by the council.
Additionally, the council passed the second and third readings of bylaws for three other tax-related functions. These include:
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A levy for the Business Improvement District generating $27,500 annually. This money is raised by downtown properties entirely, used mainly for downtown parking lots and other infrastructure needs.
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A library levy, which is expected to generate $402,000, for the Southeast Regional Library. How much is allocated isn't determined by the city.
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A health levy will seek to raise $100,000 to support the MRI Project at the St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation.