A comparison of taxes among Saskatchewan communities sparked a debate about the pros and cons of low taxes at Monday's regular meeting of City council.
In what has become an annual event, Mayor Gary St. Onge released charts comparing the amount people pay for property and commercial taxes in 12 different cities. According to the information he provided, Estevan is second lowest in both categories when it comes to the amount of taxes paid by residents.
On a home with a market value of $143,000, the taxes in 2011 were roughly $1,100. Swift Current was lowest at around $900 while Melville had the highest taxes at just over $2,000.
On the commercial side, a business valued at $100,000 will pay $1,800 in taxes this year. Saskatoon was the lowest at $1,500. Melville was again the runaway leader at $4,500.
The comparisons also took into account condominiums which are very popular in Estevan. The owner of a condo with a market value of $143,000 will pay just over $1,000 in 2011. Swift Current condo owners paid the least amount of taxes while Melville condo owners paid the most.
Shortly after St. Onge released the info, Councillor Chris Istace touched off an interesting debate when he commented that Estevan being among lowest for taxes wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Istace said there is a great deal of work that needs to be done in Estevan as well as equipment that needs to be purchased and feels being somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of taxes would better serve the community.
"There was so many things we cut this year that need to be done now. We need to finish our pathways, we need to pave so much, we need two more street sweepers we need so many things.
"We keep saying we've got low taxes but what are we offering? I know we are doing a lot and we are actually getting somewhere but I seriously want to look at not cutting anything out of the budget next year. Personally, I want more out of my city. We need to flourish right now, we need to attract people to our community and the way to do that is to revitalize the city. We can't do that without capital investment."
St. Onge said he agreed with Istace up to a point but also noted that the councillor is not the one who has to deal with residents who are upset about the amount they are already paying.
"People walk in here steady, and I mean steady, when they pay their taxes and say 'Weyburn pays less taxes than we do.' They say that every damn time and it has been three years now that it hasn't been that way."
St. Onge also cautioned Istace that not every resident earns as much money as he does and that someone needs to speak for them.
"Somebody has to speak for the people that want something done in the city as well," replied Istace. "Unfortunately you only hear from the people that want to complain. It's the same as in retail, you are not going to hear from the person that is happy."
Councillor Lynn Chipley said although Istace's stance might not be a popular one she agreed with him.
"We have to put money into capital and we have to put lots of it (in). I had people here from Medicine Hat that absolutely will not live here because we don't look like a city they want to live in. We aren't pretty yet. We are working on it but we are not there and we are doing it in such little bits that it is hard for people to see.
"Nobody wants to pay (more). But those are the (complainers) and you hear from them and you rarely hear from the people that are happy to see progress."
Councillor Brian Johnson also weighed in on the debate and cautioned his fellow council members that the City is already carrying a significant amount of debt and said they should keep that in mind when making future decisions.
"I don't want to spend more money, I want to hold back as much as we can. I want to keep the costs affordable so people can come to Estevan and say 'Ya, I can set up a business here.' We've got to be careful, I think we are reaching our limit."
Councillor Roy Ludwig said although he commends the efforts to beautify and improve Estevan, a middle-ground needs to be found.
"The city is a lot better and yes, we have a long ways to go but I think we have to be careful. We simply can't pour money in. We do have to cognizant of the fact that we are carrying a lot of debt. That is something we have to look after before we start raising a lot of taxes."
