After hiring Western Municipal Consulting Ltd. (WMC) this summer to provide Board of Revision services, city council has now appointed members to sit on that group.
During its Sept. 12 executive committee meeting, council approved a recommendation that WMC manage the Board of Revision (BOR) process from Aug. 31, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2022 and be paid as per provisions in the service agreement.
It also appointed Tim Lafreniere, Mike Waschuk, Gordon Parkinson, Dave Thompson, Cameron Duncan, Wayne Adams, Jeff Hutton, Barry Clark, Dave Gurnsey, Pam Malach, Stew Demmans and Stu Hayward as board members.
Furthermore, council appointed Kristen Tokaryk with WMC as board secretary from Aug. 31 to Dec. 31, 2022, be paid as per the service agreement, and have the power to delegate her responsibilities if she cannot act temporarily for up to 30 days.
The agreement document shows that the City of Moose Jaw will pay WMC:
- A retainership fee of $250
- An hourly staff rate of $50
- An hourly board member rate of $75 per member
- Mileage of 60 cents per kilometre
- Printing fees of 15 cents per page
- Standard Canada Post rates
- Venue rental costs as incurred
WMC must submit detailed invoices to city hall within 45 days of providing the services, while the municipality must pay the invoices within 30 days of receiving them.
The Board of Revision (BOR) is a quasi-judicial tribunal that hears property assessment appeals and determines if an error has been made in valuations. The BOR is the first step in the appeal process, while the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB) is the next step if either the municipality or property owner disagrees with the initial decision.
During its Sept. 26 regular meeting, council unanimously approved the minutes from that executive committee meeting, making those recommendations official.
Council previously said that it hopes a private contractor will provide more favourable property appeal decisions and reduce the amount of municipal taxation lost from appeals.
The next regular council meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 11.
