The City of North Battleford is crowing about the results of a property tax study that shows the community stacks up well when compared to tax assessments in other Saskatchewan communities.
The idea of the survey is to see how North Battleford compared when similar properties in each community were put side by side. For example, it looked at how much property tax a Tim Hortons or a Walmart might have to pay in each community.
In the report from James Leier, of Strategy Plus, who presented the findings to council Monday, North Battleford came out ahead of the seven other communities it was compared to in the city-by-city comparison in a number of categories. The other communities in the survey were Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Estevan, Swift Current and Yorkton.
According to the report, North Battleford stacks up well. Leier's report concludes North Battleford has the lowest total municipal assessment of communities compared, the lowest per capita assessment of communities compared, the lowest assessment in eight of 10 residential comparisons, below-average total property taxes for 18 of 20 sampled North Battleford residential properties and five out of seven commercial property types have their lowest assessment in the city of North Battleford compared to other cities.
When comparing coffee shop franchise property tax comparisons, Leier used the example of Tim Hortons found in the eight cities surveyed. He found total property taxes for coffee shops in North Battleford were 50.3 per cent lower than the average for the eight cities. Among the eight cities surveyed North Battleford's coffee shop property taxes were the lowest by 38 per cent, at $10,321. That is around $6,000 lower than the second-lowest, Swift Current, at $16,646.
As well, Leier compared large retail outlet total property taxes in the community - in this case, using Walmart as the point of comparison. Again, he said those were 31 per cent below the average, with North Battleford coming in with property taxes of $233,504. That is within seven per cent of the lowest property taxes in this category in Swift Current, which registered $216,722.27.
When comparing similar-sized residential properties the city also came out ahead. A newer 1,200 square foot home in Fairview Heights with an attached garage had a lower-than average taxable assessment at $123,970 and a property tax of $3,139.64. That property tax bill came in lower than for similar properties in four other cities: Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Regina and Moose Jaw. The tax bill in Saskatoon came in at $4,107.35.
The report's completion represents a fulfillment of a campaign promise of Mayor Ian Hamilton. He commissioned the study partly in response to the hammering the city has taken on the issue of tax competitiveness.
Groups such as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business had pointed to how poorly the city stacks up if a generic $100,000 taxable assessment is conducted.
"The models that they use are an average $100,000 assessed value," said Hamilton. But he noted a $100,000 assessed value in North Battleford is not the same as a $100,000 assessed value in Saskatoon, Regina and elsewhere.
The figures presented by Leier point to a different story when it comes to the actual property taxes paid for similar type businesses and similar sized homes in each community.
City officials say they are delighted at the findings and plan to publicize them in their efforts to attract business to the Battlefords.
"We're very, very pleased with the results, bccause it shows North Battleford is a very competitive place to own a home and to operate", said Hamilton to reporters. "We're pretty excited."
The city is regarding the survey as a good first step, with city officials expect to follow up on the study's results in the months to come.
The findings of Leier's report were made known in advance to the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce at a noon-hour meeting about a week and a half in advance of Monday's council meeting.
Following the release of the tax comparison findings on Monday, the Chamber issued a news release congratulating the City for the report.
"There are many positive outcomes provided in the report, however, this work is just a beginning," the Chamber statement reads.
"The City now has a significant opportunity and an even larger responsibility. It will be important to market and promote these positive findings to investors and businesses around the province and the country, and even more crucial that the City work hard to maintain and perhaps even better the reported rankings."
The Chamber said the city "has taken an important step towards focusing attention on the issue of property tax in this city," but stated there was still work to be done to alleviate the property tax burden on businesses and residents in Saskatchewan.
