YORKTON - Yorkton Council put the finishing touches on the city’s 2025 operating and capital budgets passing several tax policy related bylaws at its regular meeting Monday.
On March 3, 2025, City Council approved the 2025 Operating and 2025/2026 Capital Budgets, explained Raelyn Knudson – Assessment & Taxation Manager with the city,
Of that ;
* 2.06 per cent is allocated to departmental operations to maintain current service levels.
* 1.84 per cent is earmarked for capital projects to address aging infrastructure rising construction costs.
As a result, the City must collect an additional 3.9 per cent in taxation revenue for 2025, said Knudson.
Making this year’s process a bit different Knudson noted the 2025 taxation year coincides with a revaluation year under The Assessment Management Agency Act. All properties were reassessed based on updated market conditions.
The reassessment saw some shifts including;
* Residential properties: Increased by 2 per cent on average, due in part to a city-wide re inspection initiative.
* Commercial properties: Increased by 10 per cent on average, slightly below the provincial average of 14 per cent.
* Vacant land: Experienced the highest increase, with assessments rising by more than 35 per cent.
The assessment shift saw the city take some action to mitigate the effect, said Knudson.
To better handle assessment shifts within special types of property, Council proposed a new commercial sub-class: Light Aircraft Hangar.
Still, overall the longstanding tax burden distribution remains unchanged, with residential paying approximately 55 per cent of total taxes collected, and 45 per cent by commercial, she said.
In addition, Residential Base Tax was maintained at $830.00 per improved residential property.
The Recreation Service Base Tax used to support municipal recreational facilities remains:
* Improved residential properties: $100.00 per property.
* Multi-units and condos: $85.00 per unit (both unchanged).
The Hospital Base Tax introduced in 2023 to help fund a future hospital build, has been increased by $25 per year and the City proposes doing the same this year.
The hospital tax in 2025 will be;
* Improved residential properties: $75.00 per property in 2025.
* Commercial properties: Pro-rated based on 1.6 per cent of the commercial municipal levy.
The Yorkton Business Improvement District (BID) levy has been increased to 0.37 mills for 2025, said Knudson.
The $200 base tax for properties within the BID boundary remains unchanged.
The uniform mill rate for 2025 is 18.1108.
Further Knudson noted; The provincial government sets the mill rates for the education property tax for all public school divisions. The City collects the tax on its behalf and then remit the funds to the government for distribution.
Certain commercial sub-classes saw higher-than-average shifts, continued Knudson.
To address these discrepancies and help mitigate tax impacts due to revaluation, a bylaw proposes a tax phase-in mechanism, which would allow gradual implementation of tax changes in certain subclasses.
The sub classes are the Light Aircraft Hangar and the Commercial general, Warehouse and Hall properties. The latter being eligible if they see;
* An increase in taxable assessment greater than 30 per cent; and
* Municipal tax implications of $5,000 or greater on the increase.
Property taxes are due June 30 of each year, reminded Knudson. Penalties for late payments will be applied to accounts on the first day of each month.
Knudson also noted the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (Canada Post) may impose a strike if a new collective agreement cannot be reached with the postal service. Should a postal disruption affect the timely delivery of tax notices.
Administration recommended that Council consider waiving the July 1 late payment penalty to avoid penalizing residents for delays beyond their control, which they unanimously approved.
The City aims to distribute 2025 property tax notices by May 23, with a payment due date of June 30, 2025. The reverse side of each tax notice will include a clear breakdown of how tax dollars are allocated, along with the available methods of payment.
