Changes to the 2019 property tax bylaw, an amendment to the city administration bylaw, and an amendment to the sewer and water utility bylaw are now official.
City council authorized all three bylaws during its most recent regular meeting after giving each three readings.
Council voted 6-1 to approve the property tax bylaw, with Coun. Brian Swanson opposed. Council unanimously approved the amendment to the city administration bylaw, while it voted 6-1 on the sewer and water utility bylaw; Swanson was opposed.
Property tax bylaw
The 2019 property tax bylaw:
• Establishes the municipal rates of taxation for 2019
• Defines the classes and subclasses to be used for taxation purposes
• Enumerates the mill rate factors to be applied to each subclass
• Exclude assessments that generate less than $100 in municipal tax revenue from the supplemental roll for 2019
• Sets a uniform base tax for the purposes of contributing to the hospital fund reserve
• Indicates the taxation rates for the school divisions as determined by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council
The mill rate factor for some classes includes:
• Residential, multi-unit residential, and condominium properties: 0.7636
• Commercial and industrial: 1.4435
• Golf courses: 0.4882
• Other agricultural land and improvements: 0.2782
City administration bylaw amendment
The amendments in the revised City of Moose Jaw purchasing policy for administration include:
• Change orders: These have been defined and authority limits have been established
• Tender and bid disclosure: The successful bidder and bid value will be disclosed for tenders and request for proposals (RFPs)
• Awarding of contracts: Some minor wording changes were made to this section to clarify the authority levels of department heads and the city manager
• Trade agreement names: Several international trade agreements have changed their names, while the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is new
Sewer and water utility bylaw amendment
The purpose of the amendments is to reflect the changes in the waterworks utility rate schedule and the sanitary sewer utility rate schedule made during the 2019 budget committee meeting on Feb. 25, says a city administration report. The rate increases have been applied only to the water supplied and not to the fixed monthly service fee, as was past practice.
Changes include:
• For external water users, such as co-ops and SaskWater, their rates will increase by 50 per cent to 2.25. This is the in-city rate and recognizes the contribution from the operating fund covered by the citizens of Moose Jaw.
• Revenue from the rate increase will be directed to water infrastructure upgrades effective June
• An agreement with 15 Wing will be drafted to reflect a 50-per-cent increase for out-of-city water rates, at 1.5 times the city rate, effective June 1.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, May 27.
