The City of Martensville will be sending out property assessment notices and property tax notices together in late April.
It’s the second consecutive year the two notices are being mailed out simultaneously.
“We find that this gives property owners more value in understanding the impact of changes in assessment values,” explained Martensville Corporate Services Director Leah Bloomquist. “Any change to assessment could have implications for your property tax.
“Getting those two pieces of information at the same time allows property owners to see right away how it impacts their pocketbook.”
Bloomquist said in a non-revaluation year, only those owners whose property assessment has changed will receive an assessment notice. Assessments change when a renovation, addition or other improvement has been made to a property.
But, every four years, the province does a re-evaluation of all property assessments in order to ensure they don’t fall too far out of line with market values. The re-evaluation is done by the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA). This year is a revaluation year; the last one was done in 2017.
Bloomquist said every property owner in Martensville will receive an assessment notice this year.
Normally, assessment notices must be mailed out by April 1 and property tax notices are issued at the end of April.
But, a bylaw adopted by Martensville City Council at a meeting on Tuesday, March 16 extended the time required for the completion of the city’s assessment roll until April 30. The extension allows the city administration time to send out both assessment and property tax notices together.
“Sometimes when property owners receive their assessment notices they might mistake them for their tax notices,” said Bloomquist. “Sending the actual tax notice at the same time should remove that confusion.”
She noted the City of Weyburn adopted the practice of sending both notices together several years ago.
Bloomquist said last year was the first year Martensville issued both notices simultaneously. The city sent about 200 assessment notices in 2020 to property owners whose assessment had changed.
She said the city did not see any increase in the number of assessment appeals last year.
Property owners normally have 30 days to appeal their assessment.
However, in revaluation years, including 2021, property owners have 60 days to appeal their assessments.
Bloomquist said because all properties in the city were reassessed this year, the number of appeals are expected to increase.