A local business received some leniency from the City of Estevan after an incorrect property assessment caused a doubling of their property taxes owed.
During the July 14 Council Meeting, Sarb Cheema, the accountant who represents the owner of the Ramada by Wyndham Hotel in Estevan, shared his client's concern about the property tax assessment they received. According to him, the property tax owed to the City was assessed at $112,847.19 for a property valuation of $4,258,000. Cheema said that the 2024 valuation for the hotel was $1,454,000, a $3 million difference, with the property tax owed being $54,104.04.
After a meeting with the City's tax assessor, Trina Sieben, Gurpal Bajwa, the owner of the property, met with the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) in Weyburn to point out the error in their calculations. The Ramada Hotel was reevaluated and was assessed to be worth $1,360,000. From his account of the events, SAMA assured him that the issue would be resolved and that the organization would submit the reassessment to the City. However, Sieben notified Bajwa that the reassessment could not be accepted, as the appeal from SAMA was not filed in time.
Councillor Shelly Veroba pressed Cheema to clarify that SAMA's letters and reminders had made it to the Bajwa's lawyers. He insisted that the preassessment letter never made it to them.
Veroba noted that the City can change the property tax owed once the 60-day roll has lapsed. It wouldn't change the assessment of the property for this year, but rather, it would be reflected for 2026. She asked if the new assessment would cause issues when it comes to the school portion of the property tax bill. City Treasurer Trudy Firth clarified that this wouldn't change the allotment of money to schools whatsoever, as the error was not on the business or the City's end.
"We know that the assessment will then be changed next year because you already have that in documentation from SAMA. So, in my opinion, I do think it would be unfair to continue with the assessment of $4.2 million this year when we know that it was missed," she added.
Councillor Brian Johnson noted that the blame could be placed on both sides due to poor communication. "When the computer or when their program throws a number like this. You know, that's like $3,000,000 higher from last year's assessment, that should be a red flag."
Veroba applauded Bajwa's attempts at trying to rectify the issue with SAMA, comparing his actions to a business owner who deliberately forgot to file the necessary paperwork.
"The difference between, in my opinion, this and someone else who just didn't file an appeal is this business owner was actively, once he recognized the mistake, attempting to fix the error. Granted, SAMA was under the impression that an appeal had already been filed. So [SAMA] spoke to him like as if everything, all the ducks in a row of the paperwork, had been filed."
Veroba introduced the motion to amend the Ramada's property tax bill to last year's assessment of $54,104.04 based on their 2024 SAMA property value assessment. Councillor Johnson seconded the motion. The rest of the Council voted in favour of the motion.
"The onus is on the business owners, or the property owners if it's residential, to watch their assessment [and] take a look at it. If it's overvalued, file an appeal. They do actually say to please speak with the city tax assessor or SAMA first before even filing the appeal to see if an error can be found," said Veroba.
2026 is a non-assessment year for the province, so the property will be valued at $1,360,000. Next year's property tax assessment for the hotel will be based on that figure.