The government of Saskatchewan is ordering an official inspection for the Rural Municipality of McKillop No. 220. One resident sent a letter to Global News claiming their property taxes nearly doubled this year.
Government Relations Minister Warren Keading appointed Carol Ingham to lead the inspection after concerns about the governance and administration of the RM.
“Given the circumstances and the breadth and level of concerns raised it was important to act,” Kaeding said.
“I believe that Ms. Ingham will be able to complete an inspection and report back on the state of the RM’s affairs. Ms. Ingham brings a wealth of knowledge to her appointment having more than 25 years of municipal and public administration experience.”
The inspection will look into the general operations of the RM with a focus on the status of voter petitions submitted by the council, any legal actions initiated by and/or against the RM and seek to provide a synopsis of the RM’s financial situation and obligations.
“The petitions asked for a more fulsome investigation into the finances of the RM, they had asked for boundary revisions and even the way councillors may be representing various ratepayers in the constituency,” Kaeding explained.
A final report is expected to be completed by Sept. 15 and will be submitted to the minister of government relations and the local RM council. After that, Kaeding said the government will determine what appropriate next steps are if required.
Tax troubles
The issues came to a head in the RM of McKillop when residents began to receive their property tax assessments. Alta Vista resident and councillor Don Whitrow says he has to pay upward of $10,000.
“This year they’re going to double pretty much from what they were last year. They put a base tax on of $850, and then they put on a $250 garbage levy on. Then they turned around and upped the taxes as well,” he said.
Whitrow added he paid between $5,500 and $6,000 last year. The garbage levy was previously $100 annually. Whtirow does not know the rationale behind the $150 dollar increase. Other ratepayers Global News has spoken with are in the same boat.
“We built ten years ago here with the idea we were going to live here and retire here, but with the way the RM’s running here you have to wonder whether we made the right decision or not,” he said.
“It affects a lot of people in a lot of different ways. If you get somebody on a retirement income and they’ve budgeted for what they’re going to live on for the year, all of a sudden to hit them out of the blue and double their taxes it puts some real financial strain on a lot of people.”
Whitrow attended a meeting held by the RM council to discuss the situation on Saturday. He left unimpressed, feeling like the questions weren’t given real answers by Reeve Howard Arndt and the councillors.
Global News had an interview arranged with Arndt for Wednesday morning, but he had to cancel last minute due to a meeting with Kaeding and his officials. Global News has been unable to contact Arndt since.
Whitrow is glad to hear that the government is stepping into this situation and would like to see a forensic audit conducted on the RM’s books.
Devon Hack owns a piece of land in the RM that he hasn’t developed. He said his tax bill went up 138 per cent, to $2,258 for his vacant lot.
It’s this variability that’s at the basis of a legal challenge Hack is looking at putting together with MLT Aikins LLP partner Deron Kuski.
“The base that I thought of was discrimination, that they just hit certain people harder than others. It just didn’t make any sense, like it was across board. Then they had a 150 per cent increase to garbage removal. Can they show a contract that our service with Loras, or whoever, went 150 per cent higher than last year,” Hack said.
“It’s just so odd that operating expenses doubled.”
Hack and Kuski have a few hamlet councils on board with the challenge. Work on this began before the government announced their intervention, something Kuski said is helpful.
“Nothing is beyond challenge in a legal and democratic society, so we will be looking for legal avenues to challenge it.”
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