The City of Estevan is moving forward with the tax enforcement process, following approval from the Provincial Mediation Board, as discussed at the council meeting earlier this week. Municipal officials outlined their plans for acquiring and selling properties with unpaid taxes, while also addressing concerns about the sale process and publicizing ongoing tax enforcement.
The city has followed the Tax Enforcement Act and received approval from the Provincial Mediation Board to take ownership of certain properties due to unpaid taxes. Property owners have been given a 30-day notice of the city's intent to proceed.
Once the city acquires the titles, the land must be sold within one year by public auction or tender, unless otherwise ordered. The city may lease or use the property before the sale, and the proceeds must be distributed according to the act, including sharing with the school division if the land is leased. If the land isn't sold within a year, the conditional order no longer applies.
The sale process requires a three-week public notice, which includes newspaper publication, mailed notices to school divisions, and posting at the treasurer’s office. The city can reject bids that do not cover the arrears but may accept the highest bid even if it falls short. If no acceptable bids are received, the city can sell the land privately. It may also retain land for municipal use but must pay outstanding taxes. Additionally, the city could face legal claims from previous owners.
Municipal officials are prohibited from purchasing tax enforcement properties unless through a public auction for personal residence. Tenders must only be opened by the municipal auditor.
During the previous council meeting, available residential and commercial lots for sale were discussed, and the topic has also been raised at the Economic Development Board, the city will also meet with local realtors this week.
City Manager Jeff Ward explained that no decisions were needed at this time, as this was just an update based on information requested at the previous meeting.
Councillor Shelly Veroba commented on the process.“Basically, these are properties that have not paid their taxes. There has been much effort toward trying to get these taxes paid, and now what happens is these eight different titles, some of them with multiple properties within them, are going to where the city will take ownership of them and then sell the properties,” Veroba said.
She inquired whether the properties would be auctioned or sold through a realtor. “This is years of us trying to collect taxes. Also, it has to be forwarded to the Saskatchewan Municipal Board, and they try to touch base and make payment arrangements. So, it’s gone through a whole process, and we can now take title,” Ward explained.
Ward clarified that the properties would go to tender. “There’ll be public advertisement for the tender process,” he said.
The properties in question include a mix of unoccupied residential and commercial lots.
“I don’t take this lightly. We have to take a property over, but it’s definitely a much-needed thing when we’ve done everything we can to try and encourage people to pay their taxes or somehow work out a payment plan of some kind,” Veroba said as she made the motion to proceed.
Councillor Tom Mauss raised a concern about how the city would publicize the properties now that there is no local printed newspaper, as required by law.
“We put a policy together that was passed in January, so now it goes into the Gazette. It goes out on our website, on the two bulletin boards at Leisure Services and here at city hall, and if needed, we can use A-frame boards,” said city clerk Judy Pilloud. “That’s why we actually put it into the Saskatchewan Gazette. Our lead times are way longer now. We can’t just move things over in two weeks—it has to be longer. That’s part of the process.”
Also discussed was a request for an extension on taxes for a property in the final stage of enforcement. The title has been granted by the Provincial Mediation Board, and a final 30-day notice was served to the property owner on March 3.
The city received a letter on March 3 explaining the circumstances behind an individual’s failure to pay taxes. The letter included a $1,000 payment and a request for an extension. The owner proposed paying $1,000 a month starting in April until the taxes are paid in full. Under this plan, the arrears would be cleared within two years, with a condition that defaulting on payments would result in the reissuing of the 30-day notice.
If the arrears are not paid in full by December 31, 2026, tax enforcement will resume.
“I think that it’s good that we do this for him. But also in the future for anybody, it’s better to come in sooner rather than later so you don’t get yourself into a situation of either having to have your house taken by the city or being that much in arrears,” Veroba said.
Mauss agreed. “The gentleman took the initiative, paid $1,000 down. He’s obviously willing to get rid of this and has had problems in the past. I heartily agree with what Councillor Veroba said, and I think we should certainly support this.”
Councillor Matthew Dubowski reminded residents about the importance of staying current with their property taxes, highlighting the significance of the discussion.