By TERRY PUGH
Warman City Council voted at its May 20 meeting to increase both the mill rate and the base tax for all classes of property in the municipality.
Councillors voted to increase the mill rate for all property types to 6.30 for 2026 from 6.15 in 2025.
The mill rate factor for residential property is set at 1.00, while the mill rate factor for multi-residential is 0.96 and for commercial properties the mill rate factor is 1.06.
The base tax for residential properties rises by $25 from $635 in 2025 to $660 for 2026. The commercial property base tax increases by $35 from $970 in 2025 to $1,005 in 2026.
The recreation levy on all types of properties remains at $150, the same as it was in 2025.
The mill rate and base tax approved by city council apply only to the municipal portion of property taxes; the mill rate for the education portion of property taxes is set by the provincial government. For residential properties, the education property tax mill rate is 4.27, and for commercial properties the mill rate is 6.37. These mill rates are unchanged from 2025.
Three property tax options for council’s consideration were presented by city administration to council’s committee of the whole meeting on Monday, May 18.
One option proposed keeping the mill rate at 6.15 and raising both the residential and commercial base tax. This would have had a bigger impact on lower-assessed properties.
Another option was to have a small increase in the base tax with greater reliance on the mill rate. This would have had a bigger impact on higher-assessed properties.
Council eventually settled on a middle-range option which increased the base tax by a moderate amount while smoothing out the impact on both higher and lower-assessed properties.
According to figures provided by administration to the May 18 city council committee of the whole meeting, a residential property in Warman assessed at $340,000 can expect to see a $76 (2.64%) increase in the municipal portion of property taxes – from $2,876 in 2025 to $2,952 in 2026. The education portion of its property taxes would amount to $1,451.80.
The combined total of both municipal and education property taxes on that residential home assessed at $340,000 would amount to $4,403.80, an increase of 1.76% over 2025.
A residential property assessed at $550,000 would see a $107.50 (2.58%) increase in the municipal portion of property taxes, from $4,167.50 in 2025 to $4,275.00 in 2026. The education portion of property taxes would amount to $2,348.50. The combined total of both municipal and education property taxes would be $6,623.50, a 1.65% increase over 2025.