The City of Weyburn’s development levy, termed as a “burr under the saddle” to some members of council, is undergoing a major revamping by administration, by request of council, some of whom campaigned against it in the civic elections last year.
The levy was set up at a time of unprecedented growth and development in Weyburn, with projections of a rather optimistic 6.5 per cent growth, raising the concerns that the city’s infrastructure would have to grow with it. The levy’s purpose was to help provide a way to pay for that expansion of the infrastructure, when new water and sewer lines are needed along with paving of new streets and laying of new sidewalks.
The optimism was a little overblown, as the severe downturn in the oil industry impacted on Weyburn and the southeast region (and the whole province, of course). Now, the view is that even two-per-cent growth is considered “aggressive” and overly-optimistic, with a more realistic view being around 0.75 to one per cent growth.
Why is this important? With growth not nearly as robust as in the days of unprecedented boom, there is therefore not as much need for infrastructure monies to be built up, and the levy and associated charges can be removed or modified to a more reasonable level.
One of the more irritating aspects of the development levy was the charge of $12.21 per square foot levied against a developer or business owner expanding an already-existing business. This was deemed as particularly punitive as such an addition did not add any sort of burden to the city’s infrastructure, and would instead increase the value (and thereby the taxes) from that establishment, not to mention the increase in jobs, and more products for local shopping.
The result is some businesses simply did not do the expansion they wanted to do, and worse, some businesses may have decided not to come to Weyburn at all. This was a negative effect on Weyburn’s business community that does not encourage new businesses to come in and help the local economy grow, and council was right to take issue with it and to ask for a more reasonable levy.
Now, as the economy slowly rebounds from the downturn, there will be some growth, but at a slower pace than in the frantic boom times. There will still be a need to ensure the infrastructure can handle the growth we do get, so the development levy shouldn’t be totally scrapped (other than the charge to expand a business), but set at a level that encourages solid growth in our city. — Greg Nikkel
